Research design, the steps of legal research and policy research

1. Research design: meaning

A research design is the plan of a study: the arrangement of conditions for collecting and analysing data so as to answer the research question with economy of effort. It decides what will be studied, where, when, from what sources, by what methods, and how the data will be analysed. It is to research what a building plan is to construction. A good design is flexible, efficient, free of avoidable bias, and gives the most information for the least cost.

2. Kinds of design

• Exploratory (formulative): used where little is known; aims to clarify concepts and generate hypotheses. Flexible; relies on literature, experience surveys and case studies.
• Descriptive: describes the characteristics of a group or situation accurately. Needs a careful definition of what is to be measured and a representative sample.
• Diagnostic: finds out how often something occurs or what it is associated with; close to descriptive design.
• Explanatory or experimental: tests causal hypotheses. The classic experiment compares an experimental group with a control group. True experiments are rare in law; legal researchers more often use quasi-experimental designs, such as comparing a district that adopted a reform with one that did not, or the same court before and after.
• Cross-sectional and longitudinal: data at one point in time, or repeated over a period.

Every design should also deal with validity (does the study measure what it claims?) and reliability (would it give the same result if repeated?).

3. The major steps in legal research

1. Selection of the area and identification of the problem.
2. Review of literature to locate the gap.
3. Formulation of the problem: research questions, objectives, scope and limitations, definition of terms.
4. Formulation of hypothesis.
5. Research design: choice of method (doctrinal, empirical, comparative, historical or mixed), and for empirical work the universe, the sampling plan and the tools.
6. Collection of data: primary and secondary legal sources; field data by questionnaire, interview, observation or case study. A pilot study tests the tools first.
7. Processing and analysis: editing, coding, classification and tabulation; for doctrinal work, analysis and synthesis of the authorities.
8. Testing the hypothesis and interpretation.
9. Generalisation and conclusions, with suggestions.
10. Writing the report with citations and bibliography.

The steps overlap and loop back: a literature review may change the problem; a pilot may change the questionnaire. They are Dewey’s reflective thinking set out in order.

4. The synopsis

Before an LL.M. dissertation is approved, the student submits a synopsis containing: the title, introduction and statement of the problem, review of literature, research questions and objectives, hypothesis, research methodology (method, sources, sample, tools), scope and limitations, a tentative chapter plan, a time schedule, and a preliminary bibliography. The synopsis is a research design in writing.

5. Policy research: meaning

Policy research is research done to help a decision-maker choose a course of action on a public problem. Ann Majchrzak’s Methods for Policy Research (1984) describes it as research on a fundamental social problem that provides action-oriented recommendations. It differs from academic research in four ways: it starts from a problem defined by the needs of a decision-maker; it must deliver in time for a decision; it compares options rather than testing a single hypothesis; and it ends in recommendations and their communication. Law-reform research by the Law Commission is the best-known Indian form.

6. Steps in designing policy research

The steps below follow the common pattern of policy-research texts. Eugene Bardach’s A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis sets out an “eightfold path”: define the problem, assemble some evidence, construct the alternatives, select the criteria, project the outcomes, confront the trade-offs, decide, and tell your story.

1. Preparation: understanding the context. Identify the decision-maker, the stakeholders, the legal and institutional setting, the time available, and the political constraints. A policy study that ignores who will use it will not be used.
2. Defining the problem. State the problem in terms of a condition to be changed, with its size if it can be measured (“delay in disposal of cheque-bounce cases”, not “the courts are slow”). Avoid defining it in a way that presupposes the solution.
3. Conceptualisation. Build a model of the causes of the problem and of the levers available to the State: legislation, rules, funding, institutions, incentives.
4. Assembling evidence. Doctrinal review of the existing law; data from courts, departments and surveys; comparative experience of other States and countries; consultation with stakeholders.
5. Constructing alternatives. Include the status quo, incremental changes and bolder options.
6. Selecting criteria. Effectiveness, cost, equity, administrative feasibility, political acceptability, and constitutional validity — a criterion peculiar to legal policy research, since an option that would fail under Article 14, 19 or 21 is no option.
7. Projecting outcomes and weighing trade-offs. Estimate the likely effect of each option against each criterion. A matrix of options against criteria is the usual tool.
8. Recommendation. Choose, with reasons, and set out implementation steps, including the draft bill or rule where appropriate.
9. Communication. A short report written for the decision-maker, with an executive summary. The Law Commission’s practice of annexing a draft bill is a model.
10. Monitoring and evaluation. Build in indicators so that the policy can be reviewed after implementation.

7. Indian and comparative practice

The Government of India’s Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy (2014) requires that draft legislation be placed in the public domain, with a brief justification and an estimate of its financial implications, for comments before it goes to the Cabinet. In the United Kingdom, government proposals for legislation are accompanied by an impact assessment, and the European Union’s Better Regulation agenda requires impact assessment of significant proposals. These are formal versions of the policy-research steps above. The Law Commission of India, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees and the NITI Aayog do policy research within the Indian system.

How this is examined

For the short note on steps of legal research, list the ten steps with one line each. For the policy-research essay, define policy research (Majchrzak), say how it differs from academic research, set out the steps in section 6 with Bardach’s eightfold path, and end with the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy and impact assessment abroad.