Understanding legal research in the built environment.

Mante, Joseph

Abstract

Legal research is often misunderstood by many a researcher in the built environment, especially beginners. Its role as a suitable research approach employing both primary and secondary sources of data to arrive at logically sound outcomes is often undervalued or even mischaracterised as a tool for preliminary enquiry. These misconceptions stem from lack of understanding of the province of legal research in the built environment and the procedures involved. This chapter seeks to dispel this misunderstanding by explaining the scope and the procedures involved in legal research. Doctrinal legal research is a dominant aspect of legal research. In its basic form, it is about locating, describing, interpreting and systematising legal principles and concepts, with the legal system as a conceptual framework. The resources for this exercise are primary data (legislations) and secondary data (e.g. law reports, legal commentaries and other law literature) and the outcomes are supported and based on sound reasoning.

Citation

MANTE, J. 2021. Understanding legal research in the built environment. In Manu, E. and Akotia, J. (eds.) Secondary research methods in the built environment. Abingdon: Routledge [online], chapter 8, pages 106-116. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003000532-8

• Online Publication Date: Mar 11, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 31, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 12, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 106-116
• Book Title: Secondary research methods in the built environment
• Chapter Number: 8
• ISBN: 9780367429881; 9780367429874
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003000532-8
• Keywords: Construction law; Contract law; Commercial law; Dispute resolution; Built environment; Architecture; Construction
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1290382
• Contract Date: Aug 13, 2020