Announcements
Academy Documents
Please access the Students' Policies & Forms through this link. The following documents are all available at the link: Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy, and Student Disciplinary Policy.
Online Sessions Link
To connect to the online sessions of this module, please click on this link . You will be asked to register your attendance if you are not already signed in to your Zoom account. You will also be asked for the password, which is below.
Meeting ID: 818 2360 2043
Passcode: 132536
Make sure that you show up with your name and surname as you have been registered for the study programme. This is very important for attendance purposes.
Lecture Schedule & Notes
Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS, or telephone calls.
| Lecture | Date | Time | Presentation | Notes (If Any) | Session Recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture 01 | 18 January 2024 | 17:30 to 20:30hrs | Presentation 01 | Request | |
| Lecture 02 | 25 January 2024 | 17:30 to 20:30hrs | Presentation 02 | Request | |
| Lecture 03 | 26 January 2024 | 17:30 to 20:30hrs | Presentation 03 | Request | |
| Lecture 04 | 1 February 2024 | 17:30 to 20:30hrs | Presentation 04 | Request | |
| Lecture 05 | 08 February 2024 | 17:30 to 20:30hrs | Presentation 05 | Request | |
| Lecture 06 | 15 February 2024 | 17:30 to 20:00hrs | Presentation 06 | Code of Ethics - Advocates Code of Ethics - Notaries | Request |
| Lecture 07 | 22 February 2024 | 17:30 to 20:00hrs | Presentation 07 | Request |
Lecturer
Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading
Lecture 1 - What is Legal Research Part I
- What is research?
- Types of research methods and methodologies
- What is legal research?
- Historical background of legal research
- The scope, relevance and importance of legal research
Core Reading List
- Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
- Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
- Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
- Albright J, Putman W.H. (2015) Legal Research (Third Edition), Phoenix College
Lecture 2 - Legal Research Sources
- Who carries out legal research?
- Types of Legal Research
- Sources of information, their uses, and how to find them? (Legal databases, National Archives, Court Archives and Notarial Archives)
Core Reading List
- Sullivan, M. (2018) Statistics: Informed Decision using Data, Pearson/Prentice & Hall.
- Watkins, Dawn and Burton, M. (2018) Research Methods in Law, Routledge (2nd edition).
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Lecture 3 - Models of Legal Research
- Sources according to different legal systems
- Sources hierarchy
- Stages of legal research, Part I
Core Reading List
- Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
- Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
- Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Lecture 4 - Research Plan, Sampling, Data Collection and Interpretation Methodologies
- Stages of legal research, Part II
- Research Plan
- How to collect data? (Interviews, Questionnaires, Observations, etc.)
- Key concepts of sampling techniques
- Analysis and interpretation of data
Core Reading List
- Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
- Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
- Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Lecture 5 - Research Process Part I
- Meaning of research design
- Types of Research Designs
- Planning and designing
Core Reading List
- Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
- Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
- Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Lecture 6 - Research Process Part II and Legal Writing
- Legal Research Process, Part II
- Legal Writing
Core Reading List
- Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
- Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
- Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Lecture 7 - Applied Legal Research
- References and Bibliography
- Plagiarism and Collusion
- Research Ethics
Core Reading List
- Albright J, Putman W.H. (2015) Legal Research (Third Edition), Phoenix College
Supplementary Reading List
- Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1st edition)
Methods of Assessment
2 Assignments 100% of final score
Assignment
You have to choose 2 out of the 4 questions that are available in the Assignment Submission form below. The assignment should be submitted no later than Thursday 25 April 2023. The assignment has to be submitted together with the Assignment Submission Form. Please indicate the questions that you have addressed in the Assignment Submission form.
If you need information on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, follow the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting your Assignment.
We are also making the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric available for your guidance. This is a performance-based assessment tool. Tutors will use the rubric to assist them in allocating scoring while also allowing students to understand what is required in the assignment and how it will be graded. For referencing purposes, please, as much as possible, use the Oscola Referencing Guide.
Submitting Assignment - Turnitin
The Academy will notify you that assignment questions are available through email. Through another email sent to you by Turnitin (probably on the same day), you will be notified that you have been added to a "class" where you may upload your assignment(s). Assignments should be submitted by not later than 23:59 hrs of the assignment submission deadline shown on the Assignment Submission form and/or the "class".
At 21 Academy, you can submit more than one draft of your assignment before the submission deadline. The last version uploaded at the submission deadline will be considered your final submission paper and will be the one that is assessed. Make sure that your final submission does not go beyond 20% similarity when including direct quotations (the sentences in-between quotes).
Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin: submitting a paper
To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin, follow this 1-minute video: - understanding the similarity report
Referencing Style
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