Research

A working title of the topic area • This is solely for the purposes of your proposal. You will be able to

modify your title during the course of your research.

Research Context

• This is the background against which your research will be carried out.

• It should be a brief introduction outlining the general area of study and identifying the subject area within which your study falls.

• You should also refer to the current state of knowledge and any recent debates on the subject.

• You need to reference this in the same way as you would do if you were writing an essay, for example any articles or books you refer to should be footnoted with the full details of author, title, publication date and so on

Research Issues, aims or questions you intend to address

• Against the background provided in the research content above, you

need to set out the contribution that your research will make. It is normally best to do this in the form of specific aims or research questions/issues.

Identifying existing literature

• A student needs to identify the main literature in the area and to demonstrate awareness of the major existing debates. Specific sources should be identified and cited.

• The purpose of this section is not to provide a detailed summary, but to identify the ways in which the applicant’s research is able to make a contribution: what are the gaps? Which elements remain unresolved or untested? What new light remains to be shed?

• All literature cited should be fully referenced and included in the bibliography. This is an important demonstration of your research skills. The existing literature which you review can be located in a variety of places: academic journals, NGO reports, academic monographs (books), policy papers, Court decisions and so on.

Significance of Your Proposed Work

• This section should demonstrate how your research ‘fills a gap’ in existing research.

• Explain why your research is important – it is not enough to say that this has not been studied previously, you need to explain why it should be studied, that is why it is interesting/important.

• This should be the substantial section of your proposal.

Research Methods • This section should explain whether your research will be library-based and/or will involve

fieldwork/empirical data. • Give some detail on exactly how you will obtain your information. • Most legal research is library-based, relying on information that already exists; such as journal

articles, case reports, legislation, treaties, historical records. Some studies, however, might require the use of fieldwork or empirical data – that is, gathering information through direct interaction with people and processes, such as interviews, questionnaires or court observation.

• Assuming you plan to rely on library-based research, you need to explain where your sources are located and how they will be accessed, for example via the library, internet, Lexis or Westlaw. If your research is a comparative or international study, you will need to explain how you will obtain the relevant international materials and whether or not this will involve travel.

• If you plan to undertake fieldwork or collect empirical data, you need to provide details about why this is an appropriate research method, who you plan to interview, how many interviews you will carry out, and so on.

• In this section, you should also explain any special skills you have that will assist you in obtaining information, for example, if you plan to look at French law and you can read/speak French.

Time Scale and Tentative Contents

You should provide a very approximate timetable for the research. For example: • Week 1-3 reading theoretical material and developing theoretical

framework. • Week 4 – completing a proposal • Week 5-7 reading and analysing KSA materials + writing a chapter / analysis • Week 8-10 reading and analysing International / Comparative materials +

writing chapter / analysis • Week 11-12 – writing chapter / anlysis + complete draft work • Week 13-14– polishing + further research on gaps + complete writing • Week 15 - defending project

References

• This section does not count towards the word limit of project. The bibliography goes beyond cited work and includes literature that will be followed up or used in the research project.