Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE LHM3000

 
TITLE Research Methods

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Legal History and Legal Research Methods

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit will guide students on how to write a Dissertation. It will teach them with the necessary legal writing skills and show them how to adopt academic research methodology. The study-unit will address referencing guides, how to avoid plagiarism, how to write within the limits set out by the University Research Ethics Committee. The students will be encouraged to access the Notarial Archives, Court Archives and National Archives, sources and research in EU Law, and most important the qualitative and quantitative methods of approach for their dissertation.

Study-Unit Aims:

To teach students how to write a Dissertation. In order to do so students will be taught research methodology and how to apply the various legal writing skills to the subject of their dissertation. They will also be taught how to use legal databases and where to find legal materials not only in libraries but also in archives such as the national archives, court archives and notarial archives. The study-unit aims to teach students how to adopt the most appropriate research methodology for their dissertation.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- use the correct legal writing skills;
- review the literature;
- draw up research questions, and hypotheses;
- formulate a theoretical framework for their dissertation;
- learn how to present arguments in defence of their academic methodology.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- write a research proposal;
- research the law;
- access legal sources;
- become familiar with diverse research methods;
- choose the most appropriate academic research methodology for their dissertation.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1stedition).
-Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2022) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: a practical guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (2nd edition).
- Field, A. (2018) Discovering Statistics using IBM SPSS, Sage.
- McConville, M. and Chui, W.H. (2017) Research Methods for Law, Edinburgh University Press (2nd edition).

Supplementary Readings:

- Finch, E. and Fafinski, S. (2019) Legal Skills, Oxford University Press (7th edition).
- Lammasniemi, L. (2018) Law dissertations: a step-by-step guide, Routledge (1st edition).
- Strong, S I (2018) How to Write Law Essays and Exams, Oxford University Press (5th edition).
- Sullivan, M. (2018) Statistics: Informed Decision using Data, Pearson/Prentice & Hall.
- Watkins, Dawn and Burton, M. (2018) Research Methods in Law, Routledge (2nd edition).

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Analysis Task SEM1 Yes 30%
Research Paper SEM1 Yes 70%

 
LECTURER/S Frances Camilleri Cassar
Liberato Camilleri

 

 
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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