LLM First Year Term Paper | Legal Research and its Importance in Nepal | Free LLM Term Papers

Research is the investigation of a particular topic using a variety of reliable, scholarly resources. The three major goals of research are establishing facts, analyzing information and reaching new conclusions. The three main acts of doing research are searching for, reviewing and evaluating information. Research is a knowledge building process.

Research comprises “creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.” It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a topic, or in the example of a school research project, they can be used to further a student’s research prowess to prepare them for future jobs or reports. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a whole.

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as “a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”[1] Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.”[2] Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct of inquisitiveness for, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and our inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown, can be termed as research. Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in a technical sense.

The advanced learner’s dictionary of current English lays down the meaning of research as a, a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.[3]

Redman and Mory define research as a, systematize effort to gain new knowledge.[4]

According to D.Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopedia of social science define research as, the manipulation of things, concept or symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge, aids in construction of theory or in the practice of an art.[5]

1.2 Objective of the Study

The objectives of this term paper are:

To study the need and importance of legal research.
To study the uses of legal research in Nepalese context.

1.3 Research Problem

Research Problem of the study is “What is the importance of legal research in legal field?”

1.4 Rationale

This paper has identified and analyzed the existing problems and the relevant legal frameworks, so it can be useful for anyone who wishes to study and conduct research about this issue. It is also important for researchers, planners, policy makers, lawmakers as well as organizations or institutions working on the related sectors.

1.5 Limitations

This study is limited in the sense that it has been prepared as a part of fulfillment of academic qualification. This study has limitation of human resource, financial resource, and technical as well as time limitation.

1.6 Methodology

This paper is based on doctrinal research; books, journals, articles, newspaper and research reports have been consulted as secondary sources of data whereas the primary authority has been applied to legal research. Descriptive and analytical methods have been used to assess the information collected. The study has been presented in qualitative design.

CHAPTER TWO

Conceptual Framework

2.1 Background

“All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention” is a famous Hudson Maxim in context of which the significance of research can well be understood. Increased amounts of research make progress possible. Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the development of logical habits of thinking and organization. The role of research in several fields of applied economics,

These day nearly all governments maintain large staff of research technicians or experts to carry on this work. Thus, in the context of government, research as a tool to economic policy has three distinct phases of operation, viz.,

investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts;
diagnosis of events that are taking place and the analysis of the forces underlying them; and
the prognosis, i.e., the prediction of future developments. Research has its special significance in solving various operational and planning problems of business and Operations research and market research, along with motivational research, are considered crucial and their results assist, in more than one way, in taking business decisions. Market research is the investigation of the structure and development of a market for the purpose of formulating efficient policies for purchasing, production and sales. Operations research refers to the application of mathematical, logical and analytical techniques to the solution of business problems of cost minimization or of profit maximization or what can be termed as optimization problems. Motivational research of determining why people behave as they do is mainly concerned with market characteristics. In other words, it is concerned with the determination of motivations underlying the consumer (market) behavior. All these are of great help to people in business and industry who are responsible for taking business decisions. Research with regard to demand and market factors has great utility in business. Given knowledge of future demand, it is generally not difficult for a firm, or for an industry to adjust its supply schedule within the limits of its projected capacity. Market analysis has become an integral tool of business policy these days. Business budgeting, which ultimately results in a projected profit and loss account, is based mainly on sales estimates which in turn depends on business research. Once sales forecasting is done, efficient production and investment programmes can be set up around which are grouped the purchasing and financing plans. Research, thus, replaces intuitive business decisions by more logical and scientific decisions. Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in seeking answers to various social problems. It provides the intellectual satisfaction of knowing a few things just for the sake of knowledge and also has practical utility for the social scientist to know for the sake of being able to do something better or in a more efficient manner. Research in social sciences is concerned both with knowledge for its own sake and with knowledge for what it can contribute to practical concerns. “This double emphasis is perhaps especially appropriate in the case of social science. On the one hand, its responsibility as a science is to develop a body of principles that make possible the understanding and prediction of the whole range of human interactions. On the other hand, because of its social orientation, it is increasingly being looked to for practical guidance in solving immediate problems of human relations.”[6]

2.2 The Research Process

It is necessary to first define some kind of research problem in order to provide a reason for doing the research. The problem will generate the subject of the research, its aims and objectives, and will indicate what sort of data need to be collected in order to investigate the issues raised and what kind of analysis is suitable to enable you to come to conclusions that provide answers to the questions raised in the problem. This process is common to virtually all research projects, whatever their size and complexity. And they can be very different. These differences are due to their subject matters; for example compare an investigation into sub-nuclear particles with a study of different teaching methods, differences in scales of time and resources, and extent of pioneering qualities. Some projects are aimed at testing and refining existing knowledge, others at creating new knowledge.

The answers to four important questions underpin the framework of any research project:[7]

What are you going to do? The subject of your research.

Why are you going to do it? The reason for this research being necessary or interesting.

How are you going to do it? The research methods that you will use to carry out the project.

When are you going to do it? The programme of the work.

2.3 The Research Problem

There is no shortage of problems throughout the world, but for a problem to be researchable, it needs to have several crucial features. It must be:

A research problem can be based on a question, an unresolved controversy, a gap in knowledge or an unrequited need within the chosen subject. An awareness of current issues in the subject and an inquisitive and questioning mind and an ability to express yourself clearly is required in order to find and formulate a problem that is suitable for a research project. Initially, it is useful to define no more than a problem area within the general body of knowledge or subject, rather than a specific research problem, e.g. school truancy, energy saving in buildings, homecare for the elderly etc. Then, by examining the different aspects of the problem area, you can hone in on an aspect that is of particular interest to you, is controversial, or is of particular significance. Then a rationale for the research problem can be defined. This can be done, for example, by raising a question, defining some research objectives or formulating a hypothesis.

2.3.1 Basic research and Applied research

One reason for conducting research is to develop and evaluate concepts and theories. Basic- or pure-research attempts to expand the limits of knowledge. It does not directly involve the solution to a particular, pragmatic problem, but it had been said, “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” Although this statement is true in the long run, basic research findings generally cannot be immediately implemented. Basic research is conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory or to know more about a certain concept.

For example, consider this basic research conducted by a university. Academic researchers investigated whether or not an individual’s perception that he or she was doing well on a task would have any influence on future performance. Two nearly identical groups of adults were given ten puzzles to solve. All of the individuals had identical sets of puzzles to solve. After the subjects had given their solutions to the researchers, they were told “how well” they did on the test. All of the persons in the first group were told that they had done well (70 percent correct regardless of the actual percent correct. The members of the other group were told that they had done poorly (30 percent correct). Then both groups were given another set of ten puzzles. The group that had been told they had done well on the first set of puzzles performed better with the second set of puzzles than did the group that had been told they had been relatively unsuccessful with the first puzzle solving. The results of this basic research expand scientific knowledge about theories of general performance behaviour. This study was conducted because the researchers thought the theory being tested was far-reaching and applicable to a broad range of situations and circumstances.

Applied research is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem. Applied research encompasses those studies undertaken to answer questions about specific problems or to make decisions about a particular course of action or policy. For example, an organization contemplating a paperless office and a networking system for the company’s personal computers may conduct research to learn the amount of time its employees spend at personal computer in an average week.

The procedures and techniques utilized by basic and applied researchers do not differ substantially. Both employ the scientific method to answer the questions at hand. Broadly characterized, the scientific method refers to techniques and procedures that help the researcher to know and understand business phenomena. The scientific method requires systematic analysis and logical interpretation of empirical evidence (facts from observation or experimentation) to confirm or disprove prior conceptions. In basic research, first testing these prior conceptions or hypotheses and then making inferences and conclusions about the phenomena leads to the establishment of general laws about the phenomena.

Use of the scientific method in applied research assures objectivity in gathering facts and testing creative ideas for alternative business strategies. The essence of research, whether basic or applied, lies in the scientific method, and much of this book deals with scientific methodology. The difference in the techniques of basic and applied research is largely a matter of degree rather than substance.

2.3.2 Keywords

Research is simply the process of finding solution to a problem after thorough examination and analysis of factors.

Business Research is systematic and objective process of collecting, recording and analyzing data to facilitate business decisions.

Basic/Pure Research is an attempt to verify the acceptability of theory or to expand the limits of knowledge.

Applied Research is conducted when a decision is made about a specific real life problem.

Research Methods are methods/techniques used for concluding a research.

2.4 Knowing how an actual research is done

The study of research methodology gives the student the necessary training in gathering material and arranging or card-indexing them, participation in the field work when required, and also training in techniques for the collection of data appropriate to particular problems, in the use of statistics, questionnaires and controlled experimentation and in recording evidence, sorting it out and interpreting it. In fact, importance of knowing the methodology of research or how research is done stems from the following considerations:

For one who is preparing himself for a career of carrying out research, the importance of knowing research methodology and research techniques is obvious since the same constitute the tools of his trade. The knowledge of methodology provides good training specially to the new research worker and enables him to do better research. It helps him to develop disciplined thinking or a ‘bent of mind’ to observe the field objectively. Hence, those aspiring for careerism in research must develop the skill of using research techniques and must thoroughly understand the logic behind them.

Knowledge of how to do research will inculcate the ability to evaluate and use research results with reasonable confidence. In other words, we can state that the knowledge of research methodology is helpful in various fields such as government or business administration, community development and social work where persons are increasingly called upon to evaluate and use research results for action.[8]

When one knows how research is done, then one may have the satisfaction of acquiring a new intellectual tool which can become a way of looking at the world and of judging every day experience. Accordingly, it enables use to make intelligent decisions concerning problems facing us in practical life at different points of time. Thus, the knowledge of research methodology provides tools to took at things in life objectively.

In this scientific age, all of us are in many ways consumers of research results and we can use them intelligently provided we are able to judge the adequacy of the methods by which they have been obtained. The knowledge of methodology helps the consumer of research results to evaluate them and enables him to take rational decisions.

2.5 A good Research requires

Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific research to satisfy the following criteria:

The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.
The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already been attained.
The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible.
The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings.

In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research as under:

Good research is systematic
Good research is logical
Good research is empirical
Good research is replicable

However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake research studies. Many more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to understand causal relationships, social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to perform research operations.

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Importance of Legal Research

Research is simply the process of finding solution to a problem after through examination and analysis of factors. Why research is important can best explained in following points:

3.1.1 Tool for Building Knowledge and Efficient Learning

Research is required not just for students and academics, but for all professionals. It is also important for budding and veteran writers, both offline and online.

Among professionals and scribes, finding an interesting topic to discuss and/or to write about should go beyond personal experience. Determining either what the general public may want to know about or what researchers want others to realize or to think about can serve as a reason to do research.

The Brain Research Trust acknowledges the importance of research. Undoubtedly, it is crucial to finding possible cures for diseases, as well as how to prevent them. Thus, research becomes a must to ascertain if one’s ideas are supported by previous studies or if these ideas still need proof to be considered as knowledge.

3.1.2 Means to Understand Various Issues

“Research can shed light on issues we didn’t even know existed, and can raise questions we hadn’t realized even needed asking.” Thus, almost all writers of imaginary and non-fictive tales also do research, for doing so helps them create a good story and/or achieve strong credibility as an academic.

3.1.3 An Aid to Business Success

Research benefits business. Many successful companies, such as those producing consumer goods or mass-market items, invest in research and development or R&D. Different business industries with science and engineering processes like agriculture, food and beverage, manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, computer software, semiconductor, information and communication technology, construction, robotics, aerospace, aviation, and energy have high R&D expenditure because it is critical to product innovation and to improving services.

R&D also helps secure a vantage point over competitors. Finding out how to make things happen and what could differentiate them from others that offer similar products and services can raise the company’s market value. Certainly, having relevant knowledge in achieving a good commercial image through sound business strategies like investing in R&D can boost its profitability.

3.1.4 A Way to Prove Lies and to Support Truths

Doing research to reveal lies or truths involving personal affairs contributes in either making a relationship work or in breaking away from a dysfunctional one. For the monogamous lot, doing research to disprove or prove infidelity is not simply a trust issue, but a right to find out the truth unless one’s intimate partner has already admitted being polyandrous even before the relationship started. When a person dislikes answering relationship-related questions, including her or his whereabouts, it is better to see that as a red flag and take baby steps to save yourself from what could become a more serious emotional mess later.

Scientists also deal with research to test the validity and reliability of their claims or those of other scientists’. Their integrity and competence depend on the quality – and not just quantity – of their research. Nonetheless, not everything scientists come up with get accepted or learned by everyone, especially when factors like religion, state suppression, and access to resources and social services (e.g., education and adequate health programs) either feed the poor majority with lies or deter them from knowing truths to preserve the status quo.

3.1.5 Means to Find, Gauge, and Seize Opportunities

Research helps people nurture their potential and achieve goals through various opportunities. These can be in the form of securing employment, scholarships, training grants, project funding, business collaboration, and budget traveling, among others.

For those looking for a job or for greener pastures, research is necessary. Through this process, not only will the unemployed increase their chances of finding potential employers either through job posting sites or employment agencies, but it can inform them if work opportunities are legitimate. Without research, the gullible, yet hopeful jobseeker or migrant worker may fall prey to unscrupulous headhunters who might be involved in illegal recruitment and/or human trafficking.

Doing research also benefit civil society and its members. Funding for projects and research initiatives has been a top concern for those who want to address social issues. However, not all funding organizations accept proposals year-long nor are they interested in solving many social problems. Thus, it is necessary to research for agencies that match the objectives of individuals and non-profits involved in advocacy or programs that seek social change.

A wannabe business owner can likewise meet potential investors through research. He/She can examine their profiles and they can do the same. A good fit in terms of vision, mission, goals and work ethic, as well as the capital needed to launch the business is critical to making the opportunity succeed for both.

Some hobbies and interests are expensive to pursue. One of these is traveling. For budget-conscious tourists, searching for airfare and hotel promos, discount rides, and cheap markets is certainly a must to maximize the value of their money.

Seizing opportunities can broaden one’s social network, raise one’s awareness, or secure the support one direly needs to start a project or a business. Indeed, research contributes to a person’s ability to make life-changing decisions. It encourages self-growth, participation in worthwhile causes, and living productively.

3.1.6 A Seed to Love Reading, Writing, Analyzing, and Sharing Valuable Information

Research entails both reading and writing. These two literacy functions help enable computation and comprehension. Without these skills, it is less likely for anyone to appreciate and get involved in research. Reading opens the mind to a vast horizon of knowledge, while writing helps a reader use her/his own perspective and transform this into a more concrete idea that s/he understands.

Apart from reading and writing, listening and speaking are also integral in conducting research. Interviews, attending knowledge-generating events, and casual talks with anyone certainly aid in formulating research topics. They can also facilitate the critical thinking process. Listening to experts discuss the merits of their studies helps the listener to analyze a certain issue and write about such analysis.

With the wide array of ideas available, scholars and non-scholars involved in research are able to share information with a larger audience. Some view this process as ego-boosting, while others see it as a means to stimulate interest and encourage further studies about certain issues or situations.

As literacy is integral in improving a person’s social and economic mobility and in increasing awareness, research then hones necessary basic life skills and makes learning a life-long endeavor.

3.1.7 Nourishment and Exercise for the Mind

Indeed, research and doing research encourage people to explore possibilities, to understand existing issues, and to disclose truths and fabricated ones. Without research, technological advancement and other developments could have remained a fantasy. Reading, writing, observing, analyzing, and social interaction facilitate an inquisitive mind’s quest for knowledge, learning, and wisdom. Research serves as a bridge to achieve that goal.

The purpose of research is to discover answer to question through the application of scientific procedure. The main aim of research is to found out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research study has it’s own specific purpose, importance of research can be summarized in following points;

To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it/

To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group

To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variable.

To extend, correct and verify knowledge.

To find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered yet.

Research is a creative process and includes investigation or inquiry , discovery or invention or experimentation to find out the truth with evidence contained in the product.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 Analysis and Conclusion

The lack of a scientific training in the methodology of research is a great impediment for researchers in our country. There is paucity of competent researchers. Many researchers take a leap in the dark without knowing research methods. Most of the work, which goes in the name of research is not methodologically sound. Research to many researchers and even to their guides, is mostly a scissor and paste job without any insight shed on the collated materials. The consequence is obvious, viz., the research results, quite often, do not reflect the reality or realities. Thus, a systematic study of research methodology is an urgent necessity. Before undertaking research projects, researchers should be well equipped with all the methodological aspects. As such, efforts should be made to provide short duration intensive courses for meeting this requirement.

A great deal of primary data of non-confidential nature remain untouched/untreated by the researchers for want of proper contacts. Efforts should be made to develop satisfactory liaison among all concerned for better and realistic researches. There is need for developing some mechanisms of a university industry interaction programme so that academics can get ideas from practitioners on what needs to be researched and practitioners can apply the research done by the academics. Research studies overlapping one another are undertaken quite often for want of adequate information. This results in duplication and fritters away resources. This problem can be solved by proper compilation and revision, at regular intervals, of a list of subjects on which and the places where the research is going on. Due attention should be given toward identification of research problems in various disciplines of applied science which are of immediate concern to the industries.

Also many researchers in our country also face the difficulty of adequate and timely secretarial assistance, including computer assistance. This causes unnecessary delays in the completion of research studies. All possible efforts be made in this direction so that efficient secretarial assistance is made available to researchers and that too well in time. University Grants Commission must play a dynamic role in solving this difficulty. Only when these problems are addressed, the importance of legal research in day to day lives can be fully realized leading to reaping the utmost benefit from it.

[1] The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, Oxford, 1952, p. 1069.

[2] L.V. Redman and A.V.H. Mory, The Romance of Research, 1923, p.10.

[3] The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English. Oxford, 1952,p.1069

[4] L.V. Redman and A.V.H. Mory, The Romance of research,1923,p.10.

[5] The Encyclopedia of social science,Vol.IX,MacMillan,1930.

[6] Marie Jahoda, Morton Deutsch and Stuart W. Cook, Research Methods in Social Relations, p. 4.

[7] C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology,2^nd ed.,p.p.12.

[8] Carlos L. Lastrucci, The Scientific Approach: Basic Principles of the Scientific Method, p. 7.

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