Descriptive Legal Research
Descriptive legal research is about summarizing legal concepts, laws, or court cases without going into deep analysis. It’s like providing an overview of legal topics, explaining them clearly without getting too detailed. This type of research helps in understanding the basics of legal issues, setting the stage for more in-depth exploration. Instead of dissecting legal principles, descriptive research straightforwardly presents them, making it easier for readers to grasp complex legal ideas without getting overwhelmed by complexity.
For example, if a law student provides a summary of a Supreme Court decision, it’s descriptive legal research
Features of Descriptive Legal Research:
- Descriptive legal research condenses intricate legal concepts, statutes, or case law into straightforward summaries, making them understandable for non-experts.
- This type of research prioritizes clarity by simplifying legal language and removing unnecessary jargon, ensuring that the information is easily accessible to a wide audience.
- Descriptive legal research aims to present legal information objectively, without introducing personal opinions or biases, allowing readers to form their own interpretations.
Advantages of Descriptive Legal Research:
- Descriptive legal research makes legal concepts accessible to individuals without formal legal training, such as clients, policymakers, or the general public, facilitating a better understanding of legal issues.
- It provides a foundational understanding of legal topics, acting as a starting point for further exploration or analysis, aiding individuals in quickly grasping key concepts.
- Descriptive legal research is a time-efficient method for obtaining basic legal information, saving individuals from diving into lengthy legal texts or conducting extensive analyses.
Disadvantages of Descriptive Legal Research:
- Descriptive legal research may lack depth, offering only a surface-level understanding of legal topics without providing thorough analysis or insights.
- It often presents legal information in isolation, without providing broader contextualization or analysis of how legal principles apply in specific situations or contexts.
- Simplifying complex legal concepts for accessibility purposes can sometimes result in oversimplification, potentially overlooking important nuances or exceptions and leading to misunderstandings.
Types of Legal Research
Legal research is like detectives’ work for lawyers. They search for information about laws, court cases, and legal rules to find answers to their questions. This helps them understand the law better, solve legal problems, and make strong arguments in court. Lawyers need to do this research so they can give good advice to their clients and write legal papers correctly.
Table of Content
- Types of Legal Research
- 1. Descriptive Legal Research
- 2. Quantitative Legal Research
- 3. Qualitative Legal Research
- 4. Analytical Legal Research
- Conclusion
- Types of Legal Research- FAQs