Page 5 - RESEARCH HANDBOOK FOR LL.M. AND PHD

ABOUT THE HANDBOOK

Global trends in empirical legal research suggest that the most prominent law teaching institutions now place significant
emphasis on the application of empirical methods in legal research. However, legal research in India has not kept up with
this development. The orientation of candidates pursuing post graduate programme to the importance of good research
skills is far from satisfactory. In LL.M programmes, research methodology despite being a core course remains
inadequately addressed. This is despite the fact that research skills are recognized as one of the core requirements for law
students. The main predicament in this direction is noted to be the tack of right kind of training on the part of students and
researchers. Most law schools now have LL.M and Ph.D. programmes. However there is often a lack of clear cut scheme,
guidance, material and competence in the entire process of undertaking, guiding and evaluating research programmes. There
is scarcely any concise and agreeable material available which could help the researchers in planning and execution of their
research in an efficient manner. This situation has largely fostered an attitude of indifference among students towards
research assignments. Resultantly the overreaching objective of promoting a culture of research in law schools remains an
unattended target.

True to its mission, the National Law University Delhi (NLUD) places considerable importance on Empirical Legal
Research (ELR). The University in the recent past, has undertaken several initiatives including organization of specialized
workshops on empirical legal research methods and has trained a large number of teachers across the country to be able to
inculcate research skills among students.

In the same vein, it was considered that NLUD may develop a reference handbook for simplifying the process of
undertaking research assignments at the postgraduate level. I am delighted to introduce this 'Research Handbook’ For
LL.M dissertation and Ph.D. thesis writing’. This is an endeavor to offer a quick and efficient structuring and formatting of
research reports. The Handbook provides an idea as to developing a good synopsis and choosing the right framework to
structure the research. Separate designs for doctrinal and non-doctrinal research are lucidly presented with lot many tips and
easy pointers. Concise and crisp, it offers useful illustrations and sample writings to understand the application of research
method in realistic way. Further, it has many standard templates to bring uniformity in structuring project reports in terms
of proper shaping of the cover page, contents and other parts. An easy to understand account of citation is also the key
highlight of this publication.

I am confident that this modest effort of NLUD would bring much-needed standardization in the whole process of writing
of LL.M dissertation and Ph.D. thesis by the students. I expect students to make its fullest possible use. I also welcome
suggestions from all quarters to further improve this publication.

Prof. (Dr.) G.S. Bajpai
(Vice Chancellor, NLU, Delhi)