IRM 1501 Study Guide Introduction to Research Methodology

IRM 1501 Study-Guide

Introduction to Research Methodology for Law and Criminal Justice provides you with basic skills and knowledge of research and how to conduct research on various sources of law and criminal justice by using diverse research database tools. It also aims to empower you with knowledge and research skills that are applicable to both the study of law and criminal justice. Additionally, you will be taught how to infuse your research findings with principles of transformative constitutionalism and social justice. Accordingly, this module provides you with the skills necessary to apply the relevant law in given scenarios, following the correct or suitable method of referencing in law and criminal justice

CONTENTS

Study unit 1: Introduction to Law Research

1.1 What is research?
1.2 Why is research important?
1.3 Scientific and non-scientific research
1.3.1 Scientific research
1.3.2 Non-scientific research
1.4 Basic research methods
1.5 Referencing in research

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• define research
• know why research is important
• distinguish between scientific and non-scientific research
• understand basic research methods
• do proper referencing

Study unit 2: Document-Based Research

2.1 Introduction
2.2 What is document-based research?
2.3 Why is document-based research important?
2.4 Components of document-based research
2.5 The research process
2.5.1 Planning research
2.5.2 Doing the research
2.5.3 Reporting on your research
2.6 Conclusion

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• define document-based research and know why it is important
• distinguish between the different components of document-based research
• understand the research process and know how to plan your research
• conduct research and report on it

Study unit 3: Empirical Research

3.1 Introduction
3.2 What is empirical research?
3.3 Components of empirical research
3.3.1 Descriptive research
3.3.2 Exploratory research
3.3.3 Explanatory research
3.3.4 Evaluation research
3.4 Why is empirical research important?
3.5 Generic steps of empirical research
3.6 Conclusion

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• define empirical research and know its components
• distinguish between descriptive, exploratory, explanatory and evaluation research
• know why empirical research is important
• understand the generic steps of empirical research

Study unit 4: Accessing Information

4.1 Introduction
4.2 Accessing various research databases
4.3 Using the library
4.4 Referencing
4.4.1 What is referencing?
4.4.2 How to reference
4.5 Conclusion

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• access various research databases and use the library
• know what referencing is and apply it

Study unit 5: Transformative Constitutionalism in Research

5.1 Introduction
5.2 What is transformative constitutionalism?
5.3 Basic principles of transformative constitutionalism
5.4 African research methodology
5.4.1 Ubuntu
5.4.2 Social justice
5.5 Conclusion

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• define transformative constitutionalism
• know the basic principles of transformative constitutionalism
• explain the concept of ubuntu and social justice in the context of African research
methodology

Study unit 6: Ethics in Research

6.1 Introduction
6.2 Ethics in research
6.2.1 Ethics in general
6.2.2 Research ethics
6.2.3 Ethical principles
6.3 Plagiarism
6.3.1 What is plagiarism?
6.3.2 Forms of plagiarism
6.4 Conclusion

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this study unit, you should be able to
• define ethics in research
• understand what plagiarism and the forms thereof are

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