a basic guide to the practice of academic research

A BASIC GUIDE TO THE PRACTICE OF ACADEMIC

RESEARCH

Introduction

• The purpose of this lecture is to provide some basic guidance on research both for undergraduate and postgraduate students and will be divided accordingly.

• It is intended both for those new to the area for those who are not new but want some help.

Lecture limitations

(i) one lecture cannot cover all that could be said on the subject

(ii) the focus is on generalities

(iii) research always depends on the researcher

Undergraduate and postgraduate research

What are the differences between research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels?

The nature of research

“High level administration”

TERMINOLOGY

  ‘Dissertation’ will be used to mean all university research outputs (i.e. undergraduate research projects and/or dissertations, master’s theses, doctoral theses or academic writing more generally.

‘Assignment’ to mean an undergraduate type essay.

SELECTING A RESEARCH TOPIC

How do I choose a topic?

(a) an entirely new subject  

(b) a new approach to a subject, theoretical or otherwise  

(c) a particular line of argument in the literature  

(d) a new set of sources or other research materials

Conducting the initial literature review

It is always necessary to begin by undertaking a review of the existing research in your area

Conducting the initial literature review

The review will give you: • an overview of the area • help you to gauge the extent of the

literature that exists • provide some indication of how difficult

the project will be • indicate the range of possible research

sources

Conducting the initial literature review

May need to contact:

• librarians or archivists of libraries and repositories

• also information specialists (especially those centres which are source-related)

Conducting the initial literature review

Obtaining materials in the case of doctoral dissertations may involve visiting the university where they were written or requesting them by using inter library loan.

How do you find out what research is going

on?

Internet - good starting place is the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies database accessible of all subjects of research in progress by students of law in the UK.

How do you find out what research is going

on?

See also the Index to theses: with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by the universities of Great Britain and Ireland (1950– , published by ASLIB).

Conducting the initial literature review

• Nobody conducts serious research in a vacuum

• Research is not possible without acquaintance with existing work

• Useful also to get hold of a good dissertation at the appropriate level and take a look

How do you find out what research is going

on?For US try Dissertation Abstracts International 1861– online and on CD-ROM. Contains 1.7 million entries for doctoral theses, mainly from the US and Canada. Abstracts of the dissertations appear from 1980 onwards.

How do you find out what research is going

on?For European dissertations: Red Europea de Información y Documentación sobre América Latina (REDIAL for short).

Covers France, Spain, the United Kingdom since 1980.

Refining the question

Use the literature and sources surveyed to refine your research subject and construct an analytical framework

Deciding on a question or hypothesis

The question or hypothesis should set out for the reader and yourself what you want to find out. Might simply be a question or it might be a statement setting out a gap in an area of knowledge or it could be a theoretical statement that you will attempt to find evidence for or to refute.

Considerations when deciding on the research

questionDefine the question as much as possible .

Also explain: the area of research, what the dissertation will focus on, the methods employed.

An outline might introduce the theoretical background to the research, state the hypothesis or question and then set out the structure of the research.

Considerations when deciding on the research

question

Equally important: ask yourself is this something you are capable of doing to the standard required?

Considerations when deciding on the research

questionSize: does it seem that the work can be accomplished within the set parameters? Parameters also include time, money, word limits, physical resources – e.g. the locations of sources (other countries?)

Producing a detailed written literature review

First step in the research stage: should be the production of a detailed written literature review so that you can construct a research bibliography

Literature review – breadth

In writing the literature review you should, if possible cover the subject area in its specific form but also within its wider bounds.

Literature review – inspiration

The literature is both inspiration (what is sometimes called intellectual compost) and a guide

Literature review – stimulus

Review should cause you to revisit your research question to develop or amend it.

Regular review and revision of a research question is a standard practice especially at the start of the research stage

Constructing a research bibliography

RB is a list of the texts and articles from the literature review. RB ought to be a comprehensive list of sources RB should be organised into sections (starting with primary and secondary sources as defined by subject specialism)

Constructing a research bibliography

Review and RB are of great practical benefit:

• help to organise your work effectively

• save time later when writing up

• also useful for potential publication

Size and Scope

After question is refined can then:

size (i.e. estimate how much) and

scope (i.e. determine the variety and location of) sources and ascertain time required to research their source base

The research timetable

The research timetable will be determined by your research process: section by section (i.e. chapter by chapter) or theme or perhaps as a whole?

Set objectives

Break the research down into sections and set objectives.

Objectives may be

• intellectual parameters

• by source

• or by time

Keep active

• Research should be active not passive

• Keep to your research targets

• Keep thinking about the research question(s) or the central question of the dissertation

Dynamic research• First - keep accurate research notes of

what you have researched and when you researched it.

• Keep these notes in a central file (electronic or otherwise)

• Refer to it and make updates on a regular basis.

• Don’t let the notes get out of date

Dynamic research

Second - write brief reviews of the research you have undertaken daily or weekly

This will help refine your research make you more critical, develop a deeper appreciation of a given area and suggest ways in which to develop the research

Plan your analysis

After a degree of research construct plans for the analysis of the material.

Use your research questions to organise your material

Reflect on the research does it (a) fulfil your requirements or (b) is it inadequate and requires further materials

PREPARING RESEARCH MATERIAL

Organisation of material is vital to the writing process

Order it so that you can consult it in the correct sequence when writing up

Databases

Be systematic

Consider constructing a database specific to the needs of the research project

The reflective analyst

Does your analysis productively support the aims underlying the research question, does it reach sufficient depth, is the research effort proportionate to that stage of the work?

The reflective analyst

Develop the habit of questioning the practice of research and of testing your knowledge – do you have the level of insight and understanding to achieve the required quality of output when writing up?

BEGINNING TO WRITE

Two things to remember about writing:

(1) it is an intellectual process and is normally (and ought to be) taxing;

(2) rarely does the writing up of research go smoothly in relation to your budget of time

Planning

Build in time in addition to the amount you have to complete the research and produce the output as a buffer at the end of the process

Ensure style compliance

Check that you are adhering to requirements: the structure required of the dissertation (chapters/sections/presentation of references/bibliography etc)

Managing writing

• Break writing into sections (for example – usually by chapter or other smaller subsection)

• Chapters may be defined by specific research questions or by subjects

• Establish principles of clarity and coherence across the whole of the research

• Check for consistency of approach

Literature and sources

Decide how the existing literature (reviewed at the beginning of the writing up) and the research sources you are using cab best be melded together in response to the research question

REFINING THE DISSERTATION - intellectually

Reflective research should query the premise and trajectory of the research in relation to the question and the sources

• can be done individually• through discussion with a colleague or

supervisor, • or through seminars or conferences

REFINING THE DISSERTATION - practically

Build in periods after the completion of sections or chapters of the dissertation for calm and distant reflection

Drafting, re-drafting, proofing and re-proofing work is always time spent profitably but should follow from careful thought and mature reflection

Finally

Check the dissertation complies with the regulations required of it: style, construction and presentation

Make sure you give your supervisor good time to review the dissertation before final submission

Summary of research process

• Select a research topic• Conduct a literature review • Decide on a question or hypothesis• Write a detailed literature review• Create a research bibliography • Size and scope the sources• Create a research timetable• Prepare research material• Begin to write • Refine the dissertation

Undergraduate assignments

Assignments require a different research approach to dissertations but there are some points they share in common: planning is the most important.

The basics

“Legal Research” by David Stott published by Cavendish

“Legal Research Guide” by Guy Holborn published by Butterworths

Understanding the assignment

Read the question carefully

Pay special attention to any instructions the essay title contains.

Consider the question

Ask yourself what you think the person setting the question wants i.e. what is the purpose of the question, what is the questioner “getting at”?

Interrogating the question

Start by breaking the question down into its component parts or into sub-questions

In the introduction you may wish to “interrogate the question”: analyse it, test it, suggest counter arguments, point out implicit assumptions the question contains, weaknesses in its content or reasoning, explain why the question is a good question or difficult to answer.

Preparation

You must read beyond your lecture notes

Research should take you beyond the module text books to the consultation of other books and journals and internet resources

Planning

Identify relevant material in your reading and develop a plan

A plan is essential. First as a sketch but then fleshed out so that it becomes a proper structural guide for the writing of the assignment

Slot further ideas information in appropriate spaces as they occur

Wider reading

Evidence of wider reading and its application should raise your mark

apart from content it evidences your ability to do research: to identify relevant materials, to locate them, to interpret and apply them to the question and to critically evaluate them

Preparation sequence

Read the questionidentify the subject area(s) consider carefully what the question requires come to a view about the question and how you wish to approach itlook for materialsGather material together Begin reading and making notesMake plan – develop a structure

Thinking about the introduction

At the start aim to explain the central principles, concepts, doctrines etc. referred to in the question – this will allow you to display an understanding of the central issue(s) or questions and to provide an explanatory introduction to the essay.

Writing up

Writing up using the plan. The plan should be regarded as flexible and will prompt you to develop a conclusion Writing towards a conclusion can be helpful - it gives direction and force and will help you to support and evidence your conclusion

Use the plan to manage your research

Keep the question in mind as you write and think. Re-read the question from time to time A plan will help and is an equivalent to the research notes used in large research projects – it provides focus but also a means to ensure that research is relevant and directed to the purpose.

Types of question

The narrowness or breadth of a question will affect your research – take careful note of this when applying your materials to the assignment answer

In a “narrow” question this means keeping the material relevant and responding adequately to the level of detailed consideration a narrower topic demands.

Types of question

In a broad question the scope you have can be a problem – you cannot be expected to include everything.

The aim should be to identify a number of relevant key issues and discuss them in the context of the question set.

Managing the material

• Use your plan to make certain that you incorporate appropriate research materials

• apportion material to the issues involved

• Manage the materials and adapting them to the answer so that they are proportionate with regard to their relevance, volume and importance

Finally

After proof reading, editing of the final work and checking of references there should be a period of reflection to allow for you to decide on any further alterations that may be needed