Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CVL4024

 
TITLE Legal Research Seminars

 
UM LEVEL 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Civil Law

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit aims to train students in the skills required to conduct legal research, to communicate the results and to collaborate with other researchers. Initially a series of lectures will deal with various aspects of legal research; such as the selection of the topic to be investigated, the sources of legal information, the way to interpret case decisions, citations and references. Lecturers will address the specific problems encountered in doing research in various fields of law and will also describe their experiences in conducting legal research. After this, each student will be given the opportunity to deliver a presentation regarding his/her ongoing thesis research and to receive the feedback of others in a small group setting. The training given will equip students to produce better theses and/or research papers.

Study-unit Aims:

This study-unit aims to fill a lacuna in our current training of law students, by training them in the skills required to select an area to research, to develop a research hypothesis, to select the appropriate methodological tools to conduct the research, to actually conduct the research and to write a paper on it and to communicate the results, using appropriate media, to an audience of peers.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Conduct independent research on a legal topic that interests him/her;
- Deploy various research methods, alone and in conjunction with one another;
- Develop his/her own criteria for assessing his/her own research and that of others;
- Participate in a group of researchers exploring the same topic.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Select appropriate research methods to address particular research topics;
- Create a power-point presentation explaining research undertaken;
- Write a research paper around 3,000 words long;
- Use appropriate scholarly approaches as regards the overall legal style and the approach to citations and quotations;
- Present his/her work confidently and in an open spirit to colleagues.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Legal research handbook/Douglas T. MacEllven; with special assistance by Michael J. McGuire . - 3rd ed.. - Butterworth, 1993 . - xxiv, 407 p.. - ISBN 0-409-91114-3by Douglas T. MacEllven (Butterworth,1993).

Lois civiles de Malte/traduites, annotees et mises en concordance avec le Code francais par Clement Billiet . -Paris. - Pedone, 1896 . - 223 p. ; 22 cm.. - . - (Collection de codes etrangers; xvii).

Printed teaching materials: a new approach for law teachers / Richard Johnstone . - Cavendish Publishing, 1996 . - xii, 195 p.. - ISBN 1-85941-233-5.

Legal information: how to find it, how to use it / Kent C. Olson . - Oryx, 1999 . - viii, 333 p..- ISBN 0-89774-961-8.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Students taking this study-unit need to have a background in law.

Students who fail this study-unit in Semester 1, will be given the opportunity to resit this study-unit in Semester 2. Those students who fail this study-unit in Semester 2, will refer this study-unit to the following academic year.


 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation [See Add. Notes] Yes 50%
Seminar Paper [See Add. Notes] Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S Richard Lee
Lawrence Quintano (Co-ord.)

 

 
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit