Postgraduate Module Descriptor

LAWM687: Socio-Legal Research Skills

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Draft reflective log	400 words	1-10	Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request)

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
3 reflective logs	40	2,100 words in total (each approximately 700 words)	1-10	Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request)
Essay	60	3,000 words	1-10	Individual written feedback (with oral feedback upon request)

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
3 reflective logs	3 reflective logs (2,100 words in total; same as above)	1-10	August/September re-assessment period
Essay	Essay (3,000 words)	1-10	August/September re-assessment period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

• Eppstein and Martin (2014) An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research (OUP)
• Banakar, R. and Travers M. (eds.) Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research (Hart, 2005).
• Clark et al, Bryman ‘s Social Research Methods, 6th ed, 2021
• Catrina Denvir, ‘Online and in the Know? Public Legal Education, Young People and the Internet’ (2016) 92 Computers & Education 204;
• Eyal Zamir and Ilana Ritov, ‘Notions of Fairness and Contingent Fees’ (2011) 74 Law & Contemporary Problems.
• Mitu Gulati and Robert E Scott, The Three and a Half Minute Transaction: Boilerplate and the Limits of Contract Design (University of Chicago Press 2013).
• Richard Moorhead, Avrom Sherr and Alan Paterson, ‘Contesting Professionalism: Legal Aid and Non Lawyers in England and Wales’ (2003) 37 Law and Society Review 765;
• Tamara Goriely, ‘Evaluating the Scottish Public Defence Solicitors ’ Office’ (2003) 30 Journal of Law and Society 84.
• Theodore W Ruger and others, ‘The Supreme Court Forecasting Project: Legal and Political Science Approaches to Predicting Supreme Court Decision making’ [2004] Columbia Law Review 1150;
• EW Wright M. P. Ellinghaus, ‘The Common Law of Contracts: Are Broad Principles Better than Detailed Rules?’ (2005) 11 Texas Wesleyan Law Review 399.
• Constantine Boussalis, Yuval Feldman and Henry E Smith, ‘Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Standards on Compliance and Performance’ (2017) 12 Regulation & Governance 277;
• Howard Raiffa, The Art and Science of Negotiation (Harvard University Press 1985)
• Socio-Legal Studies Association, Statement of Ethical Practice, 2002