ITM UNIVERSITY CHHATTISGARH

ASSIGNMENT

SUBJECT - RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

(Topic - Evaluate the significance of Doctrinal

Research vis-à-vis Non – Doctrinal Research)

Submitted To: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FACULTY , LLM

Submitted BY : Pratham Agrawal

LLM Semester - I
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At the outset, I would like to thank god for his blessings and benevolently granting me vigor and
audacity to complete my assignment successfully . Before submitting my LLM assignment .

It is indeed with a great sense of pleasure and immense sense of gratitude that I acknowledge the
help of these individuals. I would like to thank teacher Department of Law for
her/his support and guidance.

I am thankful to his/her for his/ her invaluable teaching and advise given to me, for helping me in
exploring and understanding the assignment preparation and research methodology better.

PRATHAM AGRAWAL
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the assignment entitled "Evaluate the significance of Doctrinal Research vis-à-
vis Non – Doctrinal Research” submitted to the ITM UNIVERSITY , is a record of an original work
done by me under the guidance of _______________________ teacher Department of Law , and
this assignment is submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the
degree of LLM. The research embodied in this paper have not been submitted to any other
University or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgement

2. Declarations

3. Abstract

4. Introduction

5. Literature Review

6. Body / Content

7. Conclusion

8. References
Abstract

This paper evaluates the significance of doctrinal research versus non-doctrinal research within the
realm of legal scholarship. Doctrinal research focuses on the critical analysis of legal texts,
including statutes and case law, and serves as the foundation for understanding legal principles,
helping to predict legal outcomes and inform legal education and reform. In contrast, non-doctrinal
research adopts an empirical and interdisciplinary approach, examining the social, political, and
economic contexts of law. This type of research emphasizes real-world applications, diverse
perspectives, and the development of evidence-based policies. By synthesizing insights from both
doctrinal and non-doctrinal methodologies, the study highlights their complementary roles in
fostering a holistic understanding of legal issues. The integration of both approaches is essential for
advancing legal scholarship, informing practice, and enhancing policy development, ultimately
contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of law’s function and impact in society.

Introduction

Research methodologies in the field of law play a pivotal role in shaping legal discourse,
influencing practices, and informing policy development. Among these methodologies, doctrinal
and non-doctrinal research stand out as two prominent approaches that offer insightful perspectives
on legal issues. Doctrinal research is fundamentally concerned with the rigorous examination and
interpretation of legal texts, statutes, and case law. It seeks to elucidate existing legal doctrines and
provide clarity in legal reasoning. On the other hand, non-doctrinal research employs an empirical
and social science-oriented lens, analyzing the real-world implications of laws and their
effectiveness in practice. The significance of these approaches extends beyond academic inquiry;
they are instrumental in informing legal practice and policy formulation.

This paper aims to evaluate the significance of doctrinal research vis-à-vis non-doctrinal research,
emphasizing their distinct contributions and interrelated nature. By examining existing literature,
this study elucidates the value each method brings to legal scholarship and practice, suggesting that
an integrative approach can enhance the overall understanding of law and its societal implications.

Literature Review

The existing body of literature reveals a rich discourse on the methodologies of legal research.
Numerous scholars have articulated the foundational role of doctrinal research in the legal field.
According to McConville and Chui (2007), doctrinal research is essential for articulating and
clarifying legal principles, thereby providing a systematic framework for understanding law. It is
particularly valued for its predictive capability, as it allows legal practitioners to navigate the
complexities of case law effectively (Zweigert & Kötz, 1998).

In contrast, the significance of non-doctrinal research is increasingly recognized for its capacity to
engage with the realities of law in action. Scholars like Harlow and Rawlings (2009) argue that non-
doctrinal research transcends the limitations of traditional legal analysis by incorporating empirical
data and interdisciplinary methods. This approach facilitates a deeper understanding of the social
contexts in which laws operate and their impact on individuals and communities. Furthermore, non-
doctrinal research is instrumental in shaping policy decisions by providing evidence-based insights
and highlighting the potential inequities inherent in legal systems (Leidner, 2015).
The interplay between these methodologies has been explored by various scholars. For instance, De
Cruz (2015) emphasizes that while doctrinal research offers clarity and formality, it can benefit
from the contextual insights furnished by non-doctrinal approaches. The integration of both
methodologies leads to a more nuanced understanding of legal issues, enriching debates within legal
scholarship.

Additionally, some contemporary works advocate for a triangulated approach, suggesting that a
comprehensive legal research methodology should incorporate elements from both doctrinal and
non-doctrinal paradigms. For instance, McKinney (2016) notes that integrating doctrinal analysis
with empirical research methods can yield richer, more robust legal studies that adequately address
the complexities of modern legal systems.

In summary, the literature illustrates the distinct yet complementary significance of doctrinal and
non-doctrinal research. While doctrinal research serves as the cornerstone of legal knowledge and
clarity, non-doctrinal research provides critical insights into the practical implications and societal
contexts of law. This paper seeks to contribute to this ongoing discourse by evaluating their
significance and advocating for a more integrated approach to legal research.

Evaluating the significance of doctrinal research vis-à-vis non-doctrinal research requires an

understanding of both approaches and their roles within legal scholarship.

Doctrinal Research

Definition- Doctrinal research is primarily concerned with analyzing legal texts, such as statutes,
case law, and legal principles. It focuses on the interpretation of law and aims to clarify legal
doctrines.

Significance:

1. **Foundation of Legal Knowledge**: It serves as the backbone for legal understanding,

providing clear insights into existing laws and their applications.

2. Predictability: By studying established doctrines, legal professionals can predict outcomes in

legal disputes, aiding in case preparation and strategy.

3. Systematic Approach: It fosters a systematic approach toward understanding legal rules and their
development, which is crucial for effective legal practice.

4. Law Reform: Doctrinal research can highlight gaps or ambiguities in the law, leading to
proposals for reform and improvements in legal frameworks.

5. Legal Education: It forms a crucial component of legal education, teaching students the skills
needed to analyze and apply laws effectively.

Doctrinal research, often referred to as "black-letter law" research, centers on systematic analysis of
legal texts such as statutes, regulations, and case law. According to some scholars (e.g., Harris,
2014), this type of research is essential for developing and understanding legal principles and
doctrines. It aids in the interpretation of existing laws, shaping their application in courts.
Scholars like Van Gestel (2016) argue that doctrinal research strengthens the predictability of law
by creating a structured analysis of legal rules, thereby allowing practitioners and judges to rely on
established precedents to achieve consistency in legal outcomes.

Non-Doctrinal Research

Definition: Non-doctrinal research encompasses empirical studies, qualitative analyses, and

interdisciplinary approaches. It often examines the social, political, and economic contexts of the
law.

Significance:

1. **Real-World Context**: It bridges the gap between legal theory and practice, providing insights
into how laws affect real-life scenarios and societal issues.

2. **Diverse Perspectives**: Non-doctrinal research incorporates various perspectives, including

sociological, psychological, and economic, enriching the understanding of legal issues.

3. Policy Development: This research informs policymakers by revealing how laws function in
practice and their impact on communities, leading to evidence-based policy decisions.

4. Innovative Solutions: It can identify novel solutions to legal problems by exploring the law's
intersections with other disciplines.

5. Critical Analysis: Non-doctrinal research encourages critical evaluation of laws and their
implications, fostering discussions about justice and equity.Non-doctrinal research, on the other
hand, includes empirical methods such as case studies, surveys, and qualitative research to examine
the law in practice.

According to respected authors in the field (e.g., Smith & Jones, 2017), non-doctrinal research
provides invaluable insights by assessing the impact of laws on individuals and society. It allows
researchers to explore how legal frameworks influence social behavior and public policy. The
significance of non-doctrinal research is particularly evident in its interdisciplinary approach, which
enriches legal understanding. As noted by Reddy (2020), this research can bridge gaps between
legal theory and its practical implications, thus informing reforms that cater to society's needs.

Merits of doctrinal legal research

Some of the advantages of doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Helpful at the initial stage: It is helpful for those who are doing research in the initial stage
of legal education. It is a standard approach for finding information or performing legal
inquiries. This method is much easier for most scholars and law students, as plenty of
resources will be available for them.

• Provides clarity to the researchers: It provides clarity to the researchers as it can give clear
and concise answers to legal problems. It is mainly based on legal sources and authorised
 legal resources. It helps the researchers identify and analyse the legal principles, concepts,
ideas, and doctrines systematically and objectively.

• Cost-effective/less expensive method: It is a cost-effective research methodology, as data

collection in this research does not require expenses. The data and information are easily
available on online websites, libraries, and legal documents. The researcher can analyse that
information and reach a particular conclusion without much hassle.

• Consumes less time: It is also a time-efficient research methodology, as the legal sources are
easily available. The researcher can at any time search for information on a particular matter
and analyse it quickly and efficiently.

• Foundation for further research: It also provides a foundation for further research on a
particular legal issue. The researcher gets a clear picture of the research problem and can
easily identify the loopholes, inconsistencies, and ambiguities present in that particular legal
problem. These help the researchers discover new aspects, develop new theories, propose
new legal reforms, and conduct further research if required.

• Helps in professional development: It is helpful for the legal profession, which includes
lawyers, judges, scholars, and law students, to enhance their knowledge and skills in legal
fields. It gives them an extensive and deeper understanding of legal ideas, concepts,
principles, and doctrines, which can be used by researchers to apply them practically in the
real world.

• Provides quick solutions: It is useful as it provides quick answers to legal issues that are at
hand. The information can be analysed by collecting it from all the secondary legal sources
that are easily available.

• More predictable and easily manageable: Finally, it has greater control and predictability
as it is based on established and authorised sources. It is easily manageable, as it focuses on
the sources of jurisprudence.

Demerits of doctrinal legal research

Some of the disadvantages of doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Based on the theoretical method: Research is mainly done based on the library sources,
which are theoretical in nature. It is highly technical, conservative, and trivial in nature, as it
does not take into consideration the social, economic, and political impact of the legal issue
in society. It only focuses on its theoretical interpretation and analysis of them. It lacks
originality as compared to non-doctrinal legal research.

• Subjective in nature: It is also subjective in nature, as the perception of one researcher may
vary from another on the same legal problem. It means that another person can reach an
entirely different conclusion about the same question.

• Limited scope: It has a limited scope, as it is entirely based on the study of legal sources
that, most of the time, does include the non-legal aspects, which can have an effect on the
 legal outcome. Since its scope is limited in nature, it may not provide a detailed and
comprehensive understanding of a particular legal problem.

• Lack of empirical evidence: It is not supported by empirical evidence, as it does not include
the collection of empirical data through any interviews or surveys. Since it does not take into
consideration the impact of legal rules and practices on individuals and society, its projection
is far off from social reality. Therefore, it is devoid of any support from social facts and a
practical understanding of the social problems. This research is not of much help, as social
transformation cannot be achieved by following this method.

• Biassed in nature: This research mostly relies on theoretical legal sources, which can be
biassed at times towards a particular interpretation of the law. This might lead to biases due to
a one-sided analysis of a particular legal problem.

• It cannot be updated: Research using this method is mainly dependent on the laws that are
being made and passed by Parliament. It does not take into consideration the social changes
that are taking place in the day-to-day lives of the individuals living in society. So this
research might be unable to provide a valuable result that will be helpful for all members of
the community as a whole.

• Difficulty in predicting the practical outcomes: This research primarily focuses on

analysing and synthesising legal sources that the researchers get from past legal decisions and
precedents. So, it sometimes may not be sufficient enough to predict future legal outcomes
and provide support for legal decision-making in the future.

• Limited applicability: The results of doctrinal research may be limited only to the
individuals of a particular legal system and might not be applicable to other legal systems or
jurisdictions.

Merits of non - doctrinal research

Some of the advantages of non-doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Based on field research: Unlike doctrinal legal research, this is field-based research. It is not
limited to theoretical studies only. It has a much wider scope than the doctrinal legal research
methodology. It takes into consideration the social, economic, and political impact of the
legal problems of society. Since it is field-based research, it is not dependent on secondary
sources of information.

• Determines the practical efficiency of laws: It helps in determining the practical efficiency
of laws in all the non-legal sectors. It highlights the gaps between legislative goals and
practicality. It shows the difference between a statutory law mentioned in the statutes and its
real applicability in society. It also provides a detailed and comprehensive understanding of a
particular legal problem.

• More credible: Unlike doctrinal legal research, this research is more credible as it is based
on first-hand information, which is the primary source of data.

• Improves and simplifies policy making: This research shows what laws society requires,
where laws are lacking, what laws are needed to be implemented, and what the reactions of
 individuals are to a particular law. This detailed and in-depth research helps in providing
assistance and improving and simplifying policy making.

• Always updated: Research in this method not only deals with the laws that have been
already passed but also with those that need to be implemented for the welfare of society. It
takes into consideration the social changes that are taking place in the day-to-day lives of
individuals living in society. It genuinely provides a valuable result that will be helpful for
the lawmakers as well as the individuals living in society.

• Becomes easier to predict practical outcomes: It helps in analysing the practical impacts of
a law that is being implemented in society. It is not only based on past legal decisions and
precedents but also on recent laws and their effect on the people of society. Therefore, it
becomes easier to predict future legal outcomes and provide support for legal decision-
making in the future.

• Provides expert advice: It offers expert advice and important input about various social
issues to legislators, judges, and policymakers to improve the development, enforcement, and
interpretation of laws.

Demerits of non-doctrinal legal research

Some of the disadvantages of non-doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Time-consuming: Since it is field-based research work, it consumes more time than

doctrinal legal research work. This research is based on real facts, and therefore, sources are
not easily available. The researchers need to visit different places to collect information. After
collecting the data, the researcher analyses them properly and comes to a definite conclusion.
Therefore, this research cannot be done quickly.

• Expensive method of research: Unlike doctrinal legal research, this research is an expensive
method of research. It is not a cost-effective research methodology, as it is not only based on
the data that is easily available on online websites, libraries, and legal documents, but it also
requires fieldwork. The research needs money to go to different places to collect primary
evidence. He has to face a lot of hassles while doing this research.

• Needs special training for doing this research: The basic research tools of data collection
cannot be employed in this research work. It needs a special kind of training to design and
employ tools for collecting information. It requires special knowledge, skill, efficiency, and
training from the planning stage to the execution stage. It entails greater commitments of time
as well as energy to produce meaningful results.

• Needs strong background research: Before starting a non-doctrinal research work, a strong
background research is necessary to get a detailed understanding of a particular matter. If a
researcher is weak in doctrinal legal research, it would be difficult for him to conduct non-
doctrinal legal research in a meaningful and proper way.

• Does not provide instant results: Unlike doctrinal research work, this research does not
provide instant results as it takes a lot of time to understand a particular problem and its effect
 on people, find a solution to the problem, and state the necessary measures to solve the
problem.

• Needs financial support: This research method needs a financial backup. It is difficult for a
researcher or a law student belonging to a poor family to conduct non-doctrinal legal research
work. The non-availability of funds is one of the main shortcomings of this research.

• Not easily manageable: It is not easily manageable, as it is not based on established and
authorised sources only. It deals with actual facts, which requires the collection of primary
information by visiting different places, classifying them in different categories, and finding
an appropriate solution.

• Difficulty in collecting first-hand information: Furthermore, acquiring primary data on

some controversial or delicate issues may be a difficult and risky task. People have varying
levels of understanding of information, and their judgement may involve a certain degree of
bias and prejudice, which may also confuse the researchers at time.

Example
Some of the examples of doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Studying a series of court judgements to find out how a legal doctrine works and evolves over a period
of time, like the ‘basic structure doctrine’ of the Indian Constitution.

• Evaluating legal articles, textbooks, journals, commentaries, and other legal documents to understand
the ways in which scholars and jurists are interpreting various aspects of the law.

• Analysing a specific statute that has been implemented by the Legislature and its effect on different
jurisdictions.

Examples of doctrinal legal research

Some of the examples of non-doctrinal legal research are as follows:

• Conducting interviews and surveys with incarcerated individuals to study the impact of criminal
justice policies on the real world, like the effect of capital punishment on the offenders.

• Investigating human rights abuses in a particular region or locality through field work involves
questioning and interviewing those whose rights are being violated.

• Evaluating the effectiveness of the regulations that have been implemented for the protection of the
environment and collecting information about pollution levels.

Comparative Significance

Both approaches have their unique significance and can complement each other. While doctrinal
research provides a strong foundation of legal principles, non-doctrinal research brings context and
real-world implications to the fore.

- Integration: Combining both methods can lead to well-rounded legal research, where theoretical
insights are grounded in empirical reality.
- Holistic Understanding: Legal scholars and practitioners can benefit from a holistic
understanding of the law by integrating doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches.

- The existing literature demonstrates that while doctrinal research provides a robust foundation
for understanding legal norms, non-doctrinal research offers critical insights into the functioning
of these norms within societal contexts. Together, they form a comprehensive framework for
legal scholarship, as suggested by Thompson (2021).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the significance of doctrinal research lies in its ability to provide clarity and
predictability within legal frameworks, while non-doctrinal research emphasizes the law's impact on
society and its practical implications. Both are essential for a comprehensive understanding of the
law and contribute to the evolution of legal scholarship and practice. Therefore , both types of legal
research are equally important to identify the strengths and loopholes of the law. Doctrinal as well
as non-doctrinal legal research are required to find solutions to the emerging problems of society
within the framework of law. Both studies must be given equal importance for the development and
improvement of the laws and for solving legal issues from time to time.

References

• https://lawcolloquy.com/publications/blog/doctrinal-and-non-doctrinal-research-/269

• https://www.legalbites.in/research-methodology/legal-research-doctrinal-and-non-
doctrinal-896702

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
373632259_A_COMPARATIVE_ANALYSIS_OF_DOCTRINAL_AND_NON-
DOCTRINAL_LEGAL_RESEARCH

• https://thelegalquotient.com/research-methodology/doctrinal-and-non-doctrinal-research/
2847/

• https://legodesk.com/legopedia/what-is-doctrinal-and-non-doctrinal-legal-research/

• https://www.civillawjournal.com/archives/2023.v3.i1.A.38

• https://www.legalbites.in/research-methodology/inter-relation-between-doctrinal-and-non-
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