The Basic of Socio Legal Research

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THE BASIC OF SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH
Raghav Kansal
Socio-Legal Research or Study is an event where the science of law meets that the
science of society. This research requires a multidisciplinary approach to analyze
and interpret the law, the legal phenomenon, the relationship between those two
and also their relationship with the society in its widest sense. Socio-Legal
Research has its theoretical, practical and methodological bases in the social
sciences. Law is an important aspect when it comes to any social investigation.
The originates and functions in a society based upon the particular needs,
customs, traditions of the society and it also possesses the ability to greatly
influence the social structure and functions of any society. Therefore, just as
researchers are clueless and hapless if they have no knowledge of even the basics
of the law, legal system and the various important if not all the law institutions,
legal researchers too would be clueless and hapless and would do no justice
whatsoever to legal inquiry if they do not possess the basic knowledge and are not
aware of the mechanics of social research methods. In societies where the
development is planned, law plays the role of a catalyst which helps and speeds
the process of social reform. Thus in a dynamic or developing society a legal
researcher must adopt a multi-disciplinary approach as the legal problems in the
society will be largely in connection with the social, economic, political and
psychological issues.[1]
CHALLENGES IN SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH

In today‟s world we will find that most lawyers, judges and jurists collectively
agree upon the fact that legal research is a source of progression in the country,
even though it may differ in qualitative terms when compared many other
countries. Law, like all other disciplines can never be an isolated one. The legal
rules and provisions that prevail are in relation to various real life factual
situations that may potentially arise and so that those legal rules and provisions
may be applied to produce certain desirable outcomes. The various intellectual
disciplines such as history, science (both physical and social), religion and
philosophy are related to and influence the factual situations are also connected to
law.
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Socio-Legal research or trans-disciplinary research does not present many

problems or occupational hazards for the researchers or those who promote the
research. The problem faced by the researchers and scholars arises almost
exclusively from the depth of knowledge and awareness of the researcher in the
field of law and all the other intellectual disciplines as well. For example, it has
been observed that scholars/researchers of personal laws have used their
knowledge and expertise in the same and applied it to their research and study of
various religious literatures. Of course since lawyers and researchers are in the
end human beings only, there is a limit to the number of disciplines one may
attain expertise in.
Socio-Legal Research denotes the trans-disciplinary research combining law and

other social sciences. The challenges faced by socio-legal researchers and scholars
though manageable are not to be taken lightly. The most eminent problem is the
fact that the number of social sciences that are recognized in today‟s world are
quite large and each of them have been researched upon and studied for a
considerable period of time which has led to many sub-categorisations within a
single discipline. For example, the study of economics is just one distinct
discipline for the non-economists but in reality we find that economics has been
further divided into various categories such as finance, economic theory,
econometrics, economic history, economic policy, etc., and there are scholars
who have specialized only or rather exclusively in one or maybe more of those
sub-categories under the broad headed discipline of economics.[2]
RESEARCH ETHICS
Research ethics as a concept per se refers to a set of standards, values and
schemes that facilitates and acts as guidelines for research activity. The inherent
responsibility of maintaining the ethical standards when engaging in research
activities is connected to the standard of research process, the relationship
between the researchers and the reason for which the research activity has been
engaged with. All research ventures must be guided by the set guidelines,
standards and values. A very basic problem might arise as there might be
opposing views among fellow researchers regarding what can be considered
ethical or not in cases where the ethical boundaries are not crystal clear in their
explanations. Such conflicts among researchers might actually prove to be
beneficial to the society at large as these conflicts and confusions may bring in
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different approaches and views regarding a particular subject with had earlier not
been recognized and do not have an established opinion as of yet.[3]
PROBLEM OF PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the unethical practice of presenting someone else‟s work, ideas, and
concepts as one‟s own without acknowledging the fact that those works have been
borrowed. When it comes to research work, plagiarism is a major problem
irrespective of the field of research. We must keep in mind that there are diverging
views when it comes to defining plagiarism and determining what makes
plagiarism reprehensible. In today‟s world it has become imperative for the
researchers to understand what plagiarism is, its boundaries and the
consequences.[4]
With the help of the internet, researchers now have access to a plethora of
information compiled and publicised by other researchers and this has also
increased the frequency of plagiarism prevalent nowadays. What the researchers
who plagiarise do not understand is that using others‟ work defeats the whole
purpose of them undertaking any research project and they are also exposed to
the risk of actually plagiarising work which in fact is not very authentic or well
accepted apart from the risk of being caught and then facing the consequences for
the same.
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?

“A research problem is a definite or clear expression about an area of concern, a
condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated or a troubling
question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within existing practice
which points to a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.
A research problem however does not state how to do something, offer a vague or
broad proposition, or present a value question.”- Alan Byrman.
STEPS IN THE FORMULATION OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

 SPECIFY THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
There must be a very clear and specific statement that defines the research
objectives. This statement will help the researcher evaluate the research
question that the researcher intends to find an answer to. What is also
important is that the objectives defined must be manageable and not so many
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in number that the researcher gets confused as to which objective is more

important than the other and get confused, thereby jeopardising the entire
project. Having two or three main goals keeps the researcher focused.
 EXPLORE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM:

It has been found that the number of variables and their interdependency
influences the range of a research problem going from simple to complex.
The variables may be directly related to each other or at times be absolutely
indifferent to each other. Since the variables individually if not in pairs or
groups always influence the nature of the research problem, it becomes
imperative for the researcher to obtain all necessary information regarding
those variables relevant to the research problem.
 ANALYZING THE VARIOUS COURSES OF ACTIONS:

Any time we find a solution to any problem, one must analyze the various
possible solutions. Same is the case of research problems as well. Once the
objectives have been clearly defined and the nature of the problem has been
explored vividly, the next step is to identify and carefully scrutinize all
possible courses of actions that may be taken to solve the problem at hand.
Anticipating the possible outcomes from the various courses of action makes
it clear for the researcher to choose which course of action must be taken as
the most suitable potential outcome can be identified.
__________________________________________________________
REFERENCES :
[1]Prof. Ranbir Singh and Others, „ Research

methodology‟(MHRD) < http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/l
aw/09._research_methodology/04._socio-legal_research/et/8151_et_et.pdf> as accessed
on 24th August 2018
[2] B.S. Murty, „ Socio-Legal Research- Hurdles and Pitfalls‟

(Manupatra) < http://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/F9EC1626-
4AAB-4797-B7BE-3ED0DC478E06.pdf> as accessed on 24th August 2018
[3]Ragnvald Kalleberg, „ Guidelines for Research Ethics‟ ( National Committees for

Research Ethics in Norway
) < https://graduateschool.nd.edu/assets/21765/guidelinesresearchethicsinthesocialscie
nceslawhumanities.pdf > as accessed on 25th August 2018
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[4]Gert Helgesson and Stefan Erikson, ‘ Plagiarism in Research’

(ResearchGate) < https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263743965_Plagiarism_in_resear
ch> as accessed on 25th August 2018
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Raghav Kansal is a 2nd year student at National Law University Odisha. Apart from academics,
his interests also like in writing/researching and mooting. Raghav also plays the centre position
for the NLUO Basketball team.

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THE BASIC OF SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH

CHALLENGES IN SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH

Socio-Legal research or trans-disciplinary research does not present many

Socio-Legal Research denotes the trans-disciplinary research combining law and

WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?

STEPS IN THE FORMULATION OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

in number that the researcher gets confused as to which objective is more

 EXPLORE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM:

 ANALYZING THE VARIOUS COURSES OF ACTIONS:

[1]Prof. Ranbir Singh and Others, „ Research

[2] B.S. Murty, „ Socio-Legal Research- Hurdles and Pitfalls‟

[3]Ragnvald Kalleberg, „ Guidelines for Research Ethics‟ ( National Committees for

[4]Gert Helgesson and Stefan Erikson, ‘ Plagiarism in Research’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

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