Analysis of data, citation and writing the research report

1. Processing data

• Editing: checking completed questionnaires and notes for errors, omissions and inconsistencies.
• Coding: assigning numbers or labels to answers so that they can be counted (for open answers and interview transcripts, codes are themes).
• Classification: grouping data by common characteristics — by attribute (gender, type of offence) or by class interval (age 18–25, 26–35).
• Tabulation: arranging data in rows and columns. Each table needs a number, a title, headings, units and source.
• Graphic presentation: bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, used where they help the reader.

2. Analysis

Quantitative analysis. Descriptive statistics summarise data: measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), dispersion (range, standard deviation), and percentages. Inferential statistics test hypotheses and estimate how far sample results apply to the universe: correlation, chi-square, t-test, regression. Software such as SPSS, R or a spreadsheet does the calculation; the researcher must understand what the test assumes. Correlation is not causation: the fact that districts with more courts have lower pendency does not prove that more courts caused it.

Qualitative analysis. Transcripts and notes are read repeatedly, coded into themes, and the themes are compared across respondents. Patterns, exceptions and contradictions are noted. The researcher looks for negative cases that do not fit and revises the explanation.

Doctrinal analysis. The authorities are analysed for ratio and principle, reconciled or distinguished, and evaluated (see the note on doctrinal research).

3. Interpretation and generalisation

Interpretation is the drawing of inferences from analysed data: explaining what the findings mean in the light of the hypothesis, the literature and theory. Precautions: do not go beyond the data; consider alternative explanations; distinguish statistical significance from practical importance; state the limits of the sample. Generalisation extends conclusions to the universe, and is safe only from representative samples.

4. Structure of a research report or dissertation

Preliminary pages

• title page; certificate of the supervisor; declaration of originality by the candidate (with the plagiarism report required under the UGC 2018 Regulations); acknowledgements; table of contents; list of cases, statutes, abbreviations, tables and figures.

Main text

1. Introduction: background, statement of the problem, review of literature, research questions and objectives, hypothesis, methodology, scope and limitations, chapter scheme.
2. Conceptual or theoretical chapter: meaning, history and theory.
3. Legal framework: constitutional, statutory and international provisions.
4. Judicial approach: analysis of case law.
5. Comparative chapter where relevant.
6. Empirical findings, with tables and analysis, where fieldwork was done.
7. Conclusions and suggestions: findings, whether the hypothesis is proved, and recommendations tied to the findings.

End matter

• bibliography (books, articles, reports, online sources); appendices (questionnaire, interview guide, consent form, raw tables); index for a book.

5. Qualities of good legal writing

• Clarity: short sentences, defined terms, one idea per paragraph.
• Accuracy: every statement of law current and correctly cited; quotations exact.
• Objectivity: counter-arguments and adverse authorities dealt with fairly.
• Logical order: each chapter leads to the next; signposting at the start and a summary at the end of chapters.
• Consistency: one citation style, one spelling convention, one way of naming statutes.
• Economy: no padding, no long block quotations where a paraphrase will do.
• Suggestions that follow from findings, not a list of general wishes.

6. Citation

Citation lets the reader find and check every source, gives credit to other writers, and shows the authority for each proposition. Failure to cite is the core of plagiarism.

Systems. Legal writing uses footnotes rather than in-text (author-date) references. The common styles are:

• OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities), used widely in the UK and by many Indian law schools. It prefers minimal punctuation and uses “ibid” and cross-references of the form “(n 12)”.
• The Bluebook (A Uniform System of Citation), the standard in the United States, prescribed by several Indian law journals.
• An institution’s own style sheet, which overrides both for a dissertation.

Citing Indian cases. Give the case name in italics, the year, and the report. Since 2023 the Supreme Court has adopted a neutral citation in the form [year] INSC [number], which identifies the judgment independently of any private law report and should be given wherever available, for example Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College, 2023 INSC 116. Statutes are cited by short title and year, with section numbers.

Other rules. Cite the primary source rather than a secondary account of it; check that a case has not been overruled; give pinpoint pages or paragraphs; for online sources give the URL and date of access; use quotation marks for every borrowed phrase; and do not cite what you have not read.

7. The bibliography

A bibliography lists all sources consulted, arranged alphabetically by author, usually divided into primary sources (cases, statutes, treaties) and secondary sources (books, articles, reports, web sources). An annotated bibliography adds a line on the content and value of each source. A list of references includes only sources actually cited.

How this is examined

For a short note on writing the research report: the three-part structure in section 4, five qualities of good writing, and a paragraph on citation. For an essay on analysis and interpretation, use sections 1–3 with the caution that correlation is not causation.