1. Identify and describe a contemporary issue in Law or Legal Practice, and formulate research questions which facilitate a critical response to the identified problem.
2. Select and justify the use of a research methodology appropriate to both the discipline and the research question(s).
3. Evaluate debates relating to the research topic within social, critical and other relevant contexts.
4. Identify, select, deploy, interpret and synthesise a range of primary and secondary sources drawn from Law and related fields of study.
5. Construct a sustained and coherent argument communicated clearly in writing which accurately and persuasively deploys the features of legal academic texts.

The research proposal will examine Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 4.

The dissertation is a substantial piece of independent legal research on a topic of the student’s choice relating to Law or legal practice. It will examine all Learning Outcomes 1-5.

The Module has no prescribed syllabus, as the primary topic of the dissertation will vary from student to student, according to their research proposal, as moderated by the members of staff acting as supervisors. The chosen topic of interest by students must be relate to a law module and approved by the Dissertation Tutor and the allocated Supervisor.

The Module will cover:
Developing a workable legal research question
Formulating a research proposal
Researching and analysing primary and secondary sources.
How to write a literature review
Choice and justification of research methodology.
OSCOLA referencing
Advanced features of Word for managing a long document effectively

This Module allows students to undertake a piece of independent legal research and critical writing, in a related subject that interests them, under the supervision of a member of staff. The Module is structured so that students are required to present an assessed legal research proposal, which then provides the infrastructure for their Dissertation. During the first Semester of this Module, the Dissertation Tutor will conduct several sessions on how to research and write a law dissertation. Students are expected to engage with regular supervision throughout the process.

Learning strategies are outlined by individual tutors.

There will be 5 x 1-hour lectures and 5 x 2-hour whole group workshops in Semester 1 which will address research strategies, research methodologies, choosing a topic and formulating research questions, as well as the requirements of a research proposal. Support will be given for constructing and managing a long document in Word, including effective use of styles, navigation pane, referencing features and automatic generation of Tables of Contents.

Students will receive individual written feedback on their proposal.

The taught classes will be supplemented by 4 1-hour individual supervisions with a supervisor in the field of the dissertation subject area. Supervisions will focus on both content and form of the dissertation.

The balance of learning hours will be spent in independent study. The module will require a high degree of self-organised learning to plan, research, structure, write and edit the final dissertation.

Students will be able to submit plans and drafts of their final dissertation for feedback to their supervisor, following the guidelines for timescales and content set out in the Module Handbook.

Lammasniemi, Laura. Law Dissertations A Step-by-Step Guide (Routledge 2018)

Other text books in this area;

McConville Mike and Chui Wing Hong, Research Methods for Law (Edinburgh University Press 2017)

G. Holborn, Butterworths Legal Research Guide (Butterworths 2001)

M. Salter and J. Mason Writing Law Dissertations: An Introduction and Guide to the Conduct of Legal Research (Longman 2007)

McCrudden, Christopher, Legal research and the social sciences (Sweet & Maxwell Ltd 2006)