Shipra Gupta, Neelam Batra Legal Research Methodology

Legal Research Methodology is a modern, classroom-tested textbook that blends doctrinal ('black-letter') methods with socio-legal and empirical approaches, enabling readers to locate the law, analyse it rigorously, and examine how it operates in society. The book progresses from foundational concepts (sources of law, legal reasoning) to hands-on research skills (literature reviews, problem formulation, research design, sampling, data collection/analysis). It concludes with research ethics, copyright & plagiarism, as well as predatory journals—a rare, much-needed focus for law students and scholars today.

This book is intended for the following audience:

• LL.B./B.A.LL.B. & LL.M. Students learning research methodology, project writing, or dissertations
• Faculty & Researchers seeking a structured, step-by-step approach (with chapter-end Summaries to reinforce learning)
• Practitioners, Policy Researchers & Judges' Law Clerks who need fast, precise strategies for finding, evaluating, and applying authorities; and for undertaking socio-legal/empirical studies
• Interdisciplinary Scholars engaging law with sociology, economics, public policy, or technology

The Present Publication is the Latest Edition, authored by Prof. (Dr) Shipra Gupta & Dr Neelam Batra, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Complete Methodological Coverage] The text explains methodology as a framework linking paradigm, research design, and approach, and contrasts doctrinal with non-doctrinal (socio-legal) methods
• [Practical & End-to-end] Guidance spans problem identification, questions/hypotheses, design, sampling, data collection, analysis, and report writing, with chapter-end summaries that reinforce learning
• [Legal Reasoning] A dedicated chapter covers inductive and deductive reasoning, fallacies, and legal syllogisms
• [Tools for Modern Research] Curated open and commercial e-resources (e.g., India Code, PRS, Indian Kanoon, etc.) are catalogued to aid authoritative, up-to-date work
• [Ethics & Integrity] A whole chapter addresses research ethics, plagiarism vs. copyright infringement, predatory publishing, and journal-selection checklists
• [Endorsed by Justice Augustine George Masih | Supreme Court of India] He highlights the book's role in bridging academic rigour with practical application in courts and policy-making

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Chapter 1 – Introduction to Legal Research
  • Explains the meaning, scope and significance of legal research for practitioners and academics