Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide

208 Pages·2018·1.939 MB·English

by  Laura Lammasniemi

‘In a very accessible format, Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide takes the mystery
out of the process of dissertation writing. Thoroughly covering all aspects of law
dissertations, from planning to implementation, the book is an essential tool for law
dissertation students and those teaching legal research and writing skills.’
– Dr Ryan Hill, Senior Lecturer in Law, Anglia Law School
‘This book is an invaluable tool that I would recommend to any law student writing
a dissertation or assessed essay. It is written in a clear, accessible style and covers all
aspects of the dissertation including: how to do research; how to know which are
the best sources; and how present your knowledge in an essay so as to achieve the
best results.’
– Laura Giachardi, 42 Bedford Row
‘I would advise any student who aspires to writing a law dissertation to read this
book before starting their work. Then, see what happens: a step closer to a good job.’
– Dr Alessandro Spano, Senior Research Associate,
The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London

Law Dissertations
Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide provides you with all the guidance and information
you need to complete and succeed in your LLB, LLM or law-related dissertation.
Written in a simple, clear format and with plenty of tools to help you to put the
theory into practice, Laura Lammasniemi will show you how to make writing your
law dissertation easy, without compromising intellectual rigour.
As well as explaining the process of research and outlining the various legal
methodologies, the book also provides practical, step-by-step guidance on how to
formulate a proposal, research plan, and literature review. Unlike other law research
skills books, it includes a section on empirical research methodology and ethics for
the benefit of students who are studying for a law-related degree.
Packed full of exercises, worked examples, and tools for self-evaluation, this
book is sure to become your essential guide, supporting you on every step of your
journey in writing your law dissertation.
Dr Laura Lammasniemi is an Assistant Professor at School of Law, University
of Warwick. She specialises in legal research skills, criminal law, and public law.
She has previously convened Dissertation modules in a number of institutions
and developed Dissertation module materials for the University of London
(International Academy). Lammasniemi’s research focuses on law, gender, and
crime from historical perspective.

Law Dissertations
A Step-by-Step Guide
Laura Lammasniemi
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Laura Lammasniemi
The right of Laura Lammasniemi to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lammasniemi, Laura, author.
Title: Law dissertations: a step-by-step guide/Laura Lammasniemi.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2018. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017049855 | ISBN 9781138240674 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781138240681 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315282831 (epub) |
ISBN 9781315282824 (kindle)
Subjects: LCSH: Law—Study and teaching—Great Britain. |
Legal composition. | Dissertations, Academic—Great Britain. |
Law—Study and teaching. | Dissertations, Academic.
Classification: LCC KD442. L36 2018 | DDC 808.06/634—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049855
ISBN: 978-1-138-24067-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-24068-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-28285-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Joanna MT
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
Why read this book? 1
What will you find in this book? 1
How to do well 5
Summary 5
2 Finding and perfecting your topic 6
2.1 Key questions to consider when choosing a dissertation topic 7
2.2 Inspiration for finding a topic for research 8
2.3 Brainstorming 12
Summary 14
3 From a topic to a question 15
3.1 Narrowing down your topic to a question 16
3.2 What is a compelling research question? 20
3.3 Tasks on evaluating and strengthening research questions 21
3.4 Tools for self-evaluation 24
Summary 25
4 Creating a good research proposal 26
4.1 What is a research proposal? 27
4.2 Proposal as a ‘running document’ 29
4.3 Evaluate sample proposals 29
4.4 Evaluate your proposal 33
Summary 34
5 Planning the project 35
5.1 Scheduling and working effectively 36
5.2 Creating a research journal 40
Summary 42
viii Contents
6 Creating a research plan 43
6.1 Formulating research aim and objectives 44
6.2 Creating a research plan 46
Summary 52
7 Online research 53
7.1 Online sources: the good, the bad, and the ugly 54
7.2 How to locate different legal databases 57
7.3 How to use different databases 59
7.4 How to use publicly available resources 63
Summary 68
8 Methodology 69
8.1 Introduction to methodology 70
8.2 Blackletter law methodology 72
8.3 Socio-legal methodology 74
8.4 Theory as a methodology 75
8.5 Comparative law methodology 76
8.6 How to engage with methodology 78
8.7 Reflexivity 80
Summary 82
9 Empirical research 83
9.1 What is empirical research in law? 84
9.2 Examples of empirical legal research 85
9.3 Pros and cons of empirical research 86
9.4 How to conduct empirical research 87
9.5 Presenting research findings 92
9.6 Key principles of research ethics 93
9.7 What is ethics approval? 96
9.8 Other ethical issues 97
Summary 100
10 Processing literature 101
10.1 What is key literature? 102
10.2 Deciding what to read and what not to read 103
10.3 How to create a working bibliography 105
10.4 Quick reading skills 106
10.5 Deep reading skills 109
10.6 Critically analysing a text 110
10.7 A critical and reflective reader 112
Summary 114
Contents ix
11 Literature review 115
11.1 What is a literature review? 116
11.2 Why conduct a literature review? 117
11.3 Sources for literature review 117
11.4 How to conduct a literature review 120
11.5 Highlighting the originality of your research project 123
Summary 123
12 Writing the dissertation 124
12.1 Understanding and improving your writing skills 125
12.2 Writing good paragraphs 127
12.3 How to captivate your audience 132
12.4 Making an argument 135
12.5 How to incorporate evidence into your writing 136
Summary 139
13 Referencing 140
13.1 Why reference? 141
13.2 Plagiarism and academic offences 142
13.3 OSCOLA referencing in a nutshell 144
13.4 Harvard referencing in a nutshell 147
13.5 Exercises to test your referencing skills 150
Summary 154
14 Structuring the dissertation 155
14.1 How to structure the introduction 156
14.2 How to structure the main body 158
14.3 How to structure the conclusion 161
14.4 Signposting 161
14.5 Creating a reverse outline 163
Summary 166
15 Navigating supervision 167
15.1 What are the roles of a supervisor and a supervisee? 168
15.2 Managing your supervision meetings 171
15.3 Supervision guidelines 173
15.4 Feedback cycle 174
15.5 Working with a critical friend 175
15.6 Tools for critical friend and for self-evaluation 176
Summary 177