<i>‘The book is an important contribution to legal research and an important step in further explaining the how, why and what of legal research (...) It is already clear to me that the book is a classic for every legal researcher.’</i>
- Bald de Vries, Ars Aequi,
<i>‘Anyone who is about to embark on a journey into legal research will confront hard questions of how to provide original new knowledge about law. This book provides invaluable guidance to the uninitiated as well as inspiration to those who seek to advance their research beyond doctrinal description. Highly recommended.’</i>
- Henrik Palmer Olsen, Copenhagen University, Denmark,
<i>‘Legal scholars often struggle to articulate the methodological stakes and aims of their research. This book offers an indispensable guide to help meet that challenge. It is a bold new statement of the need for dialogue between legal research and work in other disciplines, including empirical methods and the humanities.’</i>
- Maksymilian Del Mar, Queen Mary University of London, UK,
Contextualising Legal Research discusses core topics including research questions, methods, theoretical frameworks, evaluations and recommendations. It demonstrates how the contextualisation of doctrinal research is a gradual process: while sometimes researchers may include only the output of other disciplines, their research questions often require them to undertake more interdisciplinary research themselves. Ultimately, the book advocates a combination of doctrinal research, empirical disciplines and theoretical-normative perspectives, with extensive discussion on the contribution of the humanities to legal research.
Promoting a practical examination of interdisciplinary doctrinal research, this book is an essential resource for master students and PhD candidates on research methods in law. It is also beneficial for researchers conducting doctrinal and interdisciplinary research.