Critical Research Masterclass

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Sappho Xenakis
• Assessment: individual or group presentation of considerations about legal methodologies using ‘new’ media (e.g. poetic expression/PowerPoint/podcast) backed up with original written material, such as field diaries

Drawing on the Law School’s notable strengths in critical, interdisciplinary, theory-driven and philosophically oriented approaches to law and socio-legal research, in this module we provide you with critically oriented training in the fundamentals of research design, implementation, interpretation and communication.

We will introduce a broad range of pertinent research methods and methodological debates about research principles and practices, equipping you with a set of fundamental skills and understanding with which to both rigorously evaluate scholarship in the field as well as other pertinent research materials.

Indicative syllabus

• Critical methods: political economy
• Critical methods: ethnography
• Critical methods: does law exist?
• Critical methods: law and science
• The social science challenge (qualitative methods)
• The social science methods (quantitative methods)

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• identify, evaluate and critique a range of research methods used in the study of law and society
• identify key ethical issues and responsibilities at stake when undertaking research
• demonstrate a clear understanding of the fundamental principles of research design, execution and analysis
• critically analyse, evaluate and compare a range of methodological approaches
• identify strengths, weaknesses, values and limitations in empirical evidence
• appreciate the importance of social, cultural, political and economic context for understanding sources used
• use new media in presenting outputs.