FOR OFFICE USE ONLY –

School of Law
Penalties Applied

WORD COUNT

LATE SUBMISSION

School of Law
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Assessed Coursework Coversheet

For use with individual assessed work

Student Identification
Number:

Module Code: LAW

Module Title:
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Researching
Law: Assignment
Workbook 2023
STUDENT ID:

PROPOSED RESEARCH TOPIC:

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How to use this workbook

This workbook has been designed to act as your end of module assignment, and
provide additional support around developing research questions, conducting a
literature review and planning a research project going into the final stage of your
study. This workbook has been developed to work alongside the various learning
activities undertaken in the module.

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Submission Date: 10th January 2023 at 12pm (noon)

Word Limit: Where required, specific word limits are specified on the

tasks Please complete ALL tasks in this workbook.

1. The assessment will count for 100% of your total marks for this module.

2. Your completed assessment must be submitted electronically to Turnitin through Minerva

VLE by 12 noon on 10 January 2023. To do this, you must log into Minerva Portal & VLE and
click on the ‘Learn’ tab. Select the appropriate module title (named at the top of this template),
then click on ‘Submit My Work’ in the module menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Select
the link to the relevant assessment then upload your work. By submitting your assessed work
through the VLE you are accepting the Declaration of Academic Integrity, extending to a
declaration that the work is not plagiarised and that the word count is accurately stated.

3. You should complete the attached Coursework Cover Sheet with details of your Student ID
number, Module Code & Title.

4. Work which is submitted after the deadline will be penalised in accordance with University rules
as follows: you will be deducted 5 marks for every 24 hour period or part thereof that your
assessment is overdue, up to 14 days. If your work is more than 14 days late, or if the deduction
is larger than the mark you receive, you will receive a mark of 0.

5. Extensions of the deadline for submission can only be granted in exceptional circumstances and
can only be obtained from our Student Support Officers (extension.law@leeds.ac.uk)

6. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted the correct version of your work. If, after
making a submission, you claim that you mistakenly submitted a draft, the wrong version or a
different assessment, the original version, which was submitted by the deadline, will still be
treated as your submission.

7. You should retain your digital receipt of submission. You are also required to keep an additional
copy of your work for your own reference. In addition you must keep your notes and draft copies
of the work.

8. You should ensure that you do not include your name anywhere on your assessment in
order that it remains anonymous for marking – however, you should include your Student
ID number, module code, module title and state the word count on the header of each page
and as the file name of your document.

9. Plagiarism and Cheating

It is essential that your assessed work represents your own work and that it has not been
produced in collusion with any other party. Text and ideas derived from written sources
(including electronic sources) must be acknowledged by way of appropriate citation. If you are not
aware of the University’s rules on plagiarism and academic malpractice, please familiarise
yourself with the relevant regulations as set out on the secretariat website. You should also
refer to the Academic Integrity Handbook on Minerva VLE under
Organisation/Law/Undergraduate/Academic Integrity.
10. You will receive provisional feedback on your performance and a provisional mark by
February 2023. This mark will remain provisional until confirmed by the Board of Examiners in
June/July.

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The Assignment Brief

Marking Criteria for Assignment Workbook
This workbook will be marked using the banded criteria below:

Fail 40-50 51-69 70+

Tasks Unsatisfactory Partial answers Full answers Complete

Completed attempts. and omissions (minor answers to all
(Content) omissions) with tasks - always
understanding. relevant
Analysis No attempts at Attempts at Some good Highly analytic
evaluation of the evaluation of attempts at answers
student’s own the student’s evaluation of reaching
research own research the student’s individual
material material own research conclusions
material

Reflection No attempts at Some attempts Some good Excellent

reflection where at reflection reflection where reflection where
required. where relevant relevant in relevant in
in specific specific tasks. specific tasks,
tasks that looks
forward into
improvement.

Relevance Most of the Student makes The answers The answers are
submission is attempts to are fairly relevant and
irrelevant to demonstrate relevant and meaningful to the
student and/or relevance to somewhat task and
task/assignment task, but the meaningful to assignment
goals. relevance is the task and goals.
unclear to the assignment
reader. goals.

Presentatio Substantial Some Largely Skillful word-

n inaccuracies - inappropriate accurate word- choice,
language language choice and conveying
choices are choices, not grammar. Few complex ideas
poor. always easy to minor and thought. No
Referencing follow. Some inaccuracies. issues with
also poor. referencing referencing.
issues.

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Task 1 – Reflective Blog

Write a Reflective Blog post that reflects on your learning experience thus far in this
module.

The purpose of the blog is to encourage you to reflect on your own learning
experience and skill development, and to provide evidence of the development of
the research skills which underpins the module. Whilst there is no set content for this
blog, you might include:
• Reflections upon academic learning; including individual reading and research
you have undertaken; or reflection on lecture and workshop discussions.

• Discussion of other types of learning, e.g. relating to skills development.

Examples of this are a critical analysis of the research practices that you have
engaged with; a thoughtful commentary on your approach to studying the
module (your thoughts on developing a research project perhaps); and
reflection on the development of your own research methods and activities
between the beginning of the course and submission.

(Approx. 500 words)

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The Research Journey

Every research project is a journey…

• Starting Out – Choosing a Destination, Rethinking, Planning, Refining

• Mapping your Route – Research Plan and Examining the Literature

• The Long and Winding Road – The Writing Phase: Putting Pen to
Paper

• Nearly there – Keeping Going, Redrafting, Revising, Proof Reading

• Finish Line – Submission (and publication)

This assignment asks you to choose the destination of a research project, refine
your focus, outline carefully considered research questions and reflect upon the
process of critiquing the literature in reference to this chosen question.

As we’ve told you before, the foundation of all good research projects is the
end... At the end of a good research project, you need to have achieved something.
Otherwise you may have just stated the law or given a descriptive account of a
particular issue.

This assignment prepares you for engaging with this process and allows you to
design a research question, outline the scope of your work and explore the process
of constructing a literature review. This workbook will allow you to break-down the
initial stages of a research project in order to reflect upon the skills needed to
complete a research proposal.

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Choosing your Research Area

In order to start thinking about developing a research project, you need to think of a
broad area of interest. This can be as broad as a subject you like or are interested
in…

Could be Criminal Law, Legal History, Law and Culture, Carriage of Goods by
Sea, Human Rights Law etc.

• Think about what you liked but also think about how easy or difficult you find
the subject. You could also think about how you performed in the subject’s
assessment, particularly if it is an area you have studied already or know
something about.
• Is this something you have a passion in? Is this something that you will want
to read and learn about in great depth? Will you have the passion to keep on
reading when you hit the project ‘wall’?

Task 2
Think about these questions and jot down some specific ideas here:

What broad subjects are you interested in researching and writing

about?

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What kind of problems do you see with researching in these areas?

Why do you think you want to research in these areas?

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If you had to pick one, which area would you choose?

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Narrowing the Field

Once you have a broad area or subjects, then you need to narrow the field…

Specifically, what particular legal problem or legal concept within your chosen area
do you want to research, evaluate and critically discuss…

This is never easy, but take it slow and gradually begin to develop your ideas…

For further guidance revisit the week one online learning opportunity - ‘The Research
Journey’

Task 3
Starting with your broad research area, try to write a few ways in which you might
narrow the scope of your research:

My Narrow Topic:

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Mapping Your Research Ideas

Task 4
After thinking about narrow research topics, you need to think about what you'd like
to discuss within that research area. Either draw a mind map in the space below,
or write a list of the topics you think might be beneficial to discuss in your topic
area.

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Constructing a Research Question

Drawing upon one of these research ideas, we need to develop a clear and concise
research question.

A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should
be:

• clear: it provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily

understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.

• focused: it is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the

space the writing task allows.

• concise: it is expressed in the fewest possible words.

• complex: it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather

requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of
an answer.

• arguable: its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.

Task 5
Think about these questions from Workshop 3 Worksheet. Try to decide whether the
following questions are strong or weak research questions. Use some of the
guidance above. Are they concise and clear? Are they sufficiently focused and
complex? Are they adequately arguable as research questions?

• What can be done to stem the recent surge in the area’s homeless
population?

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• What causes criminal behaviour, and does the UK’s criminal justice system
adequately address the causes?

• Is there any such thing as absolute evil?

• Women and Substance Abuse: Treatment considerations

(800 words)

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Task 6
Now have a go at constructing your own research question or a series of questions
based on your chosen topic:
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Good and Bad Research Questions

Use this chart below to think about and reflect upon your research

question

Notes and Reflections

Pause for Thought…

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Even after this process of reflection, you may feel like your research question is still
not sufficiently focused. That is totally normal….

Remember…

I have a research question I don’t have a research

question

Narrow down a research

Review Literature
topic

Is the research question… Clear?

Focused Sufficiently Complex? Congratulations you have a research question

An initial research question should guide your review of the literature. It is not fixed,
and you can appraise to ensure clarity, focus and sufficient complexity as your
knowledge of the subject deepens. This is good research practice.

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Literature Reviews

A literature review:

• Situates your research focus within the context of the wider

academic community in your field;

• Reports your critical review of the relevant literature; and

• Identifies a gap within that literature that your research will attempt to address.

It should include:

• What research question(s) are you asking?

• Why are they important/worth asking?

• Has anyone else done anything similar?

• What are the existing key debates?

• What is already known or understood about this topic?

• A critical analysis of the current literature

A literature review is an important showcase of your talents of: understanding,

interpretation, analysis, clarity of thought, synthesis, and development of argument.
The process of conducting and reporting your literature review can help you clarify
your own thoughts about your study. It can also establish a framework within which
to present and analyse the findings.

After reading your literature review, it should be clear to the reader that you have up-
to-date awareness of the relevant work of others, and that the research question you
are asking is relevant.

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The aim is for the reader to reach the end of the literature review with a clear
appreciation of what you are doing; why you are doing it; and how it fits in with other
research in your field.

A literature review is NOT an attempt to answer your research question; a

description of what authors have said; a source-by-source summary; or just a
descriptive list of ideas. It needs to be a critical engagement with the work of others.

Think about a range of things as you engage with the literature:

• Are the researchers making any assumptions?

• What methodologies are they using?

• What is *the* point being made?

• Evaluate and synthesize the findings and conclusions

• Note experts – are there particular people who are cited regularly? Why?

• Note any conflicts (theoretical/conclusions/methods)

• Has there been any changes in the dominant views/theory? Why?

It is within this literature review that you position your own work. You could think
about what your work could add to the field and why? You may be able to
demonstrate a ‘gap’ within the field which your work is going to address.

You must be critical! Don’t be afraid to position your work in one particular viewpoint
(particularly if scholarly work conflicts) and don’t be afraid to move the
discussion into a new framework or new theoretical lens. As long as it is justified,
then it’s all good.

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Task 7
Read the follow extracts and reflect upon the differences in how the authors present
the arguments and work of another. What differences can you see and which is the
better expression of critical work?
1. In a recent study, Jones stated that “the current law of divorce is inadequate
and unfit for purpose in the twenty-first century.” Warburton also believes that
the law is unfit stating that the “law of divorce is an ass.” Newbery-Jones and
a number of other scholars disagree with this.

2. Both Jones and Warburton have questioned the adequacy of the law of
divorce in England and Wales. However, their respective positions have been
criticised by a number of diverse scholars, particularly those who question the
validity of Jones’ sample participants. Furthermore, Warburton’s piece was
written in 1994 and is not wholly reflective of the current state of the law. Yet,
there is a commonality within the work of all these scholars. All fail to
adequately address the shifting socio-legal construct of marriage in a much
more diverse society.

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Task 8
Review one of the excellent literature review examples that have been uploaded to
Minerva.

What particularly stands out to you in their critical style?

Why do you think this was an excellent literature review?

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Do you think there is anything that can be improved here?

Task 9
Think carefully. How could you focus your specific literature searches? What can you
do if you return a big number of results within your searches?

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(For specific guidance revisit the week three online learning materials on ‘Finding
Direction’)

Scope of the Research Project

As you progress through your critical engagement with literature think about the
scope of the work.

• Will you be able to research and critically engage with everything?

• What methodology will you use?

• What particular part of the subject do you want to engage with?

This is where we begin to limit the scope of our research by focusing on what we
actually want to look at. This can also help us somewhat limit our engagement with a
large literature field somewhat. This might happen as we read and critique, or it
might happen as a result of the literature review. We might find a new theoretical
lens that could be applied to an old legal problem or a new perspective that has yet
to be considered.

We are also able to decide and clearly outline from the beginning which aspects of a
particular legal problem that we are looking at. This is valid research practice. We
have to be able to say what we are doing, how we are doing it and why. We also
need to give reasons as to why we are not looking at some other parts of a particular

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legal problem. These could be varied but could include; the availability of data, the
novel characteristics of our particular approach, a pertinent gap in the literature, a
specific aspect of a broader social or legal problem, a particular aspect of the law
that could be reformed, to name but a few.

Remember, a journal article and a dissertation are both about 12,000 words in
length. That might seem like a lot but it is not much at all. We have to limit the scope
to ensure we can be analytical and evaluative in our research.

Task 10
Is there anything that springs to mind that could help you limit the scope of your
work? A particular theoretical lens? A certain methodology?

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Task 11
Literature Log
We want you to keep a literature log as you explore the various academic sources
you discover and work to refine your question and explore your topic. A literature log
can help you quickly locate particular work, notes, and critique quickly later on. It can
also help you group similar or conflicting arguments, alongside points that support
your own hypothesis. Include at least 10 different sources in this literature log.

Text/Article/Chapter Full Reference Read (r) or Notes & Points of

Identified (i) Critique

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Text/Article/Chapter Full Reference Read (r) or Notes & Points of

Identified (i) Critique
Text/Article/Chapter Full Reference Read (r) or Notes & Points of
Identified (i) Critique
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Writing with Authority

Formal Academic Language: Be Accurate and Precise

• Use formal language, such as conversely (rather than on the other hand)
• Be exact, accurate and careful about details
• Avoid ambiguous expressions and approximate language
• No contractions (it is, not it’s)
• No colloquialisms, such as
“nowadays” Remember:

How?
Make your unattributed (not referenced)
assertion at the start of paragraphs
followed by evidence, findings,
arguments from your sources
Example
To date there is no well-established
tool to measure rates of female on
male domestic violence. Current
methods used to assess domestic
violence depend on self-report figures
such as the CSEW and this is argued
to be unreliable (Longmire, 2007)

Explicitly tell your reader what the Terrance, however, takes a different
connections are between sources approach to Johnson…

Explicitly tell your reader what the
connections are between
sources/evidence and your main
assertion
Parkinson’s argument challenges the
term 'gender', as it is culturally and
socially constructed. This illustrates
that assuming that this language as
representing a binary can be
misleading when compared to
individual’s lived experiences.

Using language to show your strong
agreement/disagreement/cautious
agreement with sources
Smith’s (2009) findings clearly show
that …
A serious weakness with this argument
is…
Pagett’s research suggests…
It is possible that…

Include ‘so what’ summary sentences
(evaluative sentences) at the end of
paragraphs
This shows that is not possible
understand death investigation as a
single process with one primary
beneficiary. Instead, it must respond
contemporaneously to a number of
interested parties and agendas.

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Task 12

Read the examples below and identify any issues with the language used in them.
Think about how they can be improved and write you revised versions in the spaces
provided

Examples Your Revision

Many people think that BAME persons
are disposed towards criminality.

I think that it is wrong to evict squatters,

they clearly have nowhere else to go.

The government is only there for the

rich.

This theory is weak because…

Taylor’s analysis covers all areas of…

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Remember…

Research is about:

What you are doing?

How you are doing it?

Why you are doing it?

These questions should constantly be in your mind when undertaking a research

proposal, and any research project.

Task 13
What is your provisional research question(s)?

Task 14
Outline what you plan to research, how you are going to do this and why is it worth
researching?

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Notes
Please use these pages to keep important notes, scribbles, ideas, big thoughts! and
things to do. (This is not part of a formal task, just for you!)

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