Legal research is not a monolithic activity, it encompasses various methodologies and approaches. The type of research one conducts depends on the questions asked and the nature of the data or sources involved. In this article, we explore several major types of legal research including doctrinal, non-doctrinal (empirical), analytical, descriptive, comparative, and applied research, explaining what each entails.
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Doctrinal Legal Research
Doctrinal research (often called “black-letter law” research) is the traditional method of legal research that focuses on authoritative texts of the law. This type asks, essentially, “What is the law on a given issue?” and seeks to answer by analyzing legal rules in statutes, regulations, and case law.
A doctrinal researcher gathers all relevant primary sources, then interprets and harmonizes them to state the law accurately.
The methodology is largely library-based: reading legislation, court decisions, and scholarly commentary to synthesize principles.
The core tasks involve interpretation and logical reasoning, for example, resolving ambiguities in a statute or reconciling conflicting case precedents.
Also find out what are the Objectives of Legal Research.
Non-Doctrinal (Empirical) Legal Research
Non-doctrinal research, also known as empirical or socio-legal research, looks at law in context. Instead of only analyzing texts of law, it investigates how law operates in society and often uses methods from social sciences.
This approach is appropriate for questions like “How effective is this law in achieving its goals?” or “How do people perceive this legal process?” For example, a non-doctrinal study might examine how a domestic violence law is actually enforced by police and experienced by victims, gathering data through interviews or statistics on arrest rates.
The value of empirical legal research is that it can test whether legal rules work as intended and inform law reform with factual evidence. For example, if empirical research finds that a new tax law is widely evaded, that could spur amendments to the law.
Non-doctrinal research aligns with the view that law is not just a set of rules but a social phenomenon, and it should be studied with attention to its effects on people.
Many contemporary issues (like assessing racial bias in sentencing, or the deterrent effect of certain penalties) require empirical study to answer meaningfully.
Analytical Legal Research
The term “analytical research” in law typically refers to a style of research that goes beyond mere description to critically evaluate existing law. It involves critical thinking and evaluation of legal rules, often aiming to resolve ambiguities or propose improvements.
In practice, analytical research is part of doctrinal work but whereas basic doctrinal research might stop at stating what the law is, analytical research probes deeper: why is the law that way? Is it logically consistent? What are the alternative interpretations?.
An analytical legal research project might, for example, examine a Supreme Court decision and critique its reasoning, suggesting an alternative interpretation that better fits the statute or precedent.
Descriptive Legal Research
Descriptive research, as the name implies, seeks to describe legal phenomena accurately and systematically, without injecting evaluation or criticism. It is akin to mapping out the current state of affairs.
For instance, a descriptive legal research project might compile and explain the provisions of all current data protection laws in a certain country, or document the historical development of a legal doctrine.
The goal is not to analyze whether something is good or bad, but to provide a clear picture of “what exists”. Descriptive research often answers “what” and “how” questions (e.g., “How has the Supreme Court’s stance on free speech evolved over time?”).
Comparative Legal Research
Comparative research compares legal systems or laws across different jurisdictions or time periods. It aims to identify similarities and differences, and often to glean insights or best practices from one system that could benefit another.
For example, a comparative study might look at how two countries regulate hate speech, or compare corporate governance codes in the EU versus the US. Comparative legal research involves understanding each legal system on its own terms (including cultural and historical context) and then drawing comparisons.
Comparative research is especially common in academic scholarship and in the development of international law or transnational regulations. It has practical utility:
Legislators and courts do look at other jurisdictions for guidance. For instance, when crafting data privacy laws, many countries compared notes on the EU’s GDPR.
A student engaging in comparative research will learn to navigate foreign legal materials and articulate differences in legal reasoning or outcomes. It’s a complex but rewarding type of research that underscores that law is not uniform worldwide and that alternative solutions exist for similar problems.
Applied Legal Research
Applied research is problem-oriented and seeks practical solutions to concrete issues. In contrast to “pure” research which might be theoretical, applied legal research is geared towards application, often directly assisting a decision-maker or solving a client’s problem.
For example, if a law firm is faced with a novel issue for a client, the research the associates do is applied research: they are trying to find the answer to help that client make a decision (e.g., is a certain business practice legal? what are the legal risks?).
Features of applied research include:
A clear statement of the problem, analysis of the law relevant to that problem, and a set of actionable conclusions (e.g., “Policy X should be revised in this manner” or “Individuals in situation have these legal options”).
In legal practice, memos and briefs are a form of applied research output; in academia, clinic projects or policy papers likewise.
The hallmark is that it’s decision-oriented where the research is not just for knowledge’s sake, but to inform some decision or action.
Quantitative and Qualitative Legal Research
These terms, borrowed from social science, pertain to the nature of data used in legal research and often correlate with doctrinal vs. empirical dichotomy.
Quantitative legal research involves quantifiable data, for example, using statistics on court case outcomes, doing empirical surveys with numerical results, or analyzing datasets (like sentencing data, crime rates, contract clauses frequency).
It often goes hand-in-hand with empirical research (non-doctrinal) where hypotheses can be tested with numbers (e.g., “Did the new law reduce accidents? Let’s compare accident statistics from before and after.”). Quantitative research requires knowledge of statistical methods to ensure valid interpretation of data. A legal scholar might use regression analysis to study the impact of a law across different jurisdictions.
Qualitative legal research, on the other hand, deals with non-numerical data, such as interview transcripts, case studies, or purely textual analysis of legal materials. Much of doctrinal research is qualitative (interpreting text).
Socio-legal research can also be qualitative, like ethnographic studies of how a community uses dispute resolution, or in-depth interviews with judges about how they make decisions. Qualitative research provides rich, detailed understanding, though it may be more subjective and not generalizable in the statistical sense.
Many legal research projects use a mixed methods approach, e.g., analyzing some data quantitatively but also including qualitative interviews for context.
Bottom Line
Understanding these types helps a researcher design their project appropriately. For example, if your question is purely about clarifying the content of law, a doctrinal approach is indicated. If your question is about the impact of law, an empirical approach might be necessary. Many thesis projects in law utilize a combination: perhaps first doing doctrinal analysis to state the law, then doing empirical work to critique it, and finally proposing applied solutions. As one legal research guide notes, “legal research enables professionals to address specific legal questions, propose solutions, and promote justice”, whether through doctrinal, comparative, analytical, or other methods. The key for students is to be conscious of what approach they are using and ensure they employ the appropriate methodology and rigor that each type requires. By combining these approaches thoughtfully, legal research can be both deep in understanding and broad in application.
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Types of Legal Research: FAQs
Q1. What is doctrinal legal research?
Doctrinal legal research, also known as "black-letter law" research, involves studying existing laws, statutes, and case decisions to derive legal principles, concepts, and rules. It is the most common type of legal research in practice.
Q2. What is empirical legal research?
Empirical legal research focuses on gathering data and analyzing it to draw conclusions about how laws are applied in real-life situations. This might include surveys, interviews, or the collection of statistical data regarding legal practices and outcomes.
Q3. What is comparative legal research?
Comparative legal research involves analyzing and comparing the laws, legal systems, or legal practices of different countries or jurisdictions. It helps to understand how different legal systems approach similar issues or solve legal problems.
Q4. What is historical legal research?
Historical legal research examines the evolution of legal concepts, institutions, or rules over time. It looks at past decisions, legislative history, and legal changes to understand how current laws developed and their historical context.
Q5. What is interdisciplinary legal research?
Interdisciplinary legal research integrates legal analysis with perspectives from other fields like economics, psychology, sociology, and political science. It helps in understanding legal issues from a broader perspective and provides insights that might not be apparent from a purely legal viewpoint.
