Law Dissertations

A Step-by-Step Guide

Laura Lammasniemi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000485844
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Jura
• Subtopic: Rechtstheorie & -praxis

Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide provides law students with all the guidance and information they need to complete and succeed in their LLB, LLM or law-related dissertation. Written in an accessible, clear format and with plenty of tools to help put the theory into practice, Laura Lammasniemi will show students how to make writing a law dissertation easy, without compromising intellectual rigour.

The primary aim of this book is to tackle the issues that cause anxiety to law students undertaking a dissertation so that they can focus on the research that you find exciting. As well as explaining the process of research and outlining the various legal research approaches, the book also provides practical, step-by-step guidance on how to formulate a proposal, research plan, and literature review. The second edition expands guidance to LLM and Masters students, and provides up-to-date guidance on how to complete your project using both online resources and remotely. Unlike other law research skills books, Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide includes a section on empirical research methodology and ethics for the benefit of students who are studying for a Masters in law.

Packed full of exercises, worked examples, and tools for self-evaluation, this book is sure to become an essential guide for law students, supporting them on every step of their dissertation journey.

1 Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9781003123552-1

Dissertation writing comes with a range of emotions: excitement and enthusiasm, but perhaps also fear and a sense of being overwhelmed. The primary aim of this book is to tackle the issues that cause anxiety to dissertation students so that they can focus on the research that you find exciting. The book breaks the process of dissertation writing into accessible, simple steps and guides you through the process from the moment you start to plan your project to the day of submission.

Why read this book?

Although there are many generic books on dissertation writing and even some books on legal research skills, this book focuses specifically on law dissertations. The primary goal of this book is to provide an accessible introduction to law dissertation writing. The book consists of easy-to-follow steps and exercises aimed at breaking down the process into small tasks that help you successfully build the project without anxiety.

The book is aimed at all students studying law. Whether you are studying for a law LLB, LLM or law-related course such as Law and Business, this book will guide you through the dissertation writing journey.

If you are entering the dissertation writing stage with a clearly formulated, critical research question, wealth of research experience, and outstanding writing skills, this book might not be for you. However, if like most law students you are not entirely sure how to go about the dissertation project, or you want to improve your skills – and grades – this book will help you.

What will you find in this book?

Many universities offer classes on methodology or on writing, but the steps that students often find most overwhelming – such as formulating a proposal – are rarely taught in class. This book tackles all those aspects of the dissertation writing process, so whether you are working independently or with a supervisor, you will be able to complete your project to the best of your ability.

An old saying goes: ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ The same applies for dissertation writing. If you think about ‘writing the dissertation’ the task might feel overwhelming. However, once you break it down to easily manageable steps, the task becomes a lot less daunting. Instead of ‘writing the dissertation’, the book will help you to focus on each element of the work in turn. To help you on your journey, the book is divided into eight easy-to-follow steps, as shown in Figure 1.1. Each step helps you to get closer to the submission day:

Figure 1.1

The diagram is repeated at the beginning of each chapter so you can monitor your progress before moving on to the Steps.

Step I: formulating a proposal

Step I addresses the burning question of how to come up with a topic for dissertation research. It also has a chapter on how to turn topics into good research questions and how to create excellent proposals. This is particularly important if your university only allows a select number of students to undertake dissertations.

Step II: planning and preparing research

Step II focuses on the planning. It gives you tools to manage your time and plan for the practical aspects of dissertation writing. It also has a chapter on research planning; this is a common requirement for postgraduate dissertations and now increasingly for undergraduate law dissertations as well.

Step III: conducting research and tackling methodology

Step III focuses on how to conduct and discuss research. It will begin with a chapter that focuses on online research. Whatever the study project, most research is now conducted online. During the COVID pandemic, libraries, universities, and study centres were forced to close their doors, and online libraries, databases, and publications were more in demand than ever. As hard copy books became impossible to access, universities and publishers invested a great deal in e-books and online access. This means that online libraries are better than they have ever been. This chapter is packed with tasks that enable you to utilise good-quality internet sources that are available freely and through university libraries. This Step also has chapters on methodology, both on traditional library-based and on empirical methodology. It will explain what these methodologies are, and how to draw from them. It concludes with giving you tools to engage with methodologies and research ethics.

Step IV: processing literature

Step IV focuses on literature. It explains what is key literature in a field, and gives you guidance on reading skills. It also focuses on deep reading skills and includes tasks that enable you to become a more reflective reader. This Step also has a chapter on literature reviews for those who need to complete one as part of their dissertation writing process.

Step V: writing your dissertation

Step V focuses on good writing. Everyone who has reached the final year of a law degree can write well enough to pass a dissertation, but this chapter focuses on how to become a good, authoritative, and captivating writer. This Step also includes a chapter on referencing as anyone hoping to obtain the highest marks must possess good referencing skills.

Step VI: structuring your dissertation

Step VI offers practical guidance on structuring your dissertation based on your chosen methodology. It explains why signposting can make a difference between a very good and an excellent dissertation. It also gives you tools to assess your structure using a ‘reverse outline’.

Step VII: navigating supervision

Step VII focuses on the area of dissertation writing that often causes the most anxiety: the supervision relationship. In truth, supervision is not an independent Step in a way that writing a proposal is. A good supervision relationship is something that runs through your entire project, from proposal stage to completion. What is a good supervision relationship, and how should that relationship be managed? Unlike most writing books, this chapter will also discuss the role of a critical friend and give you tools for self-evaluation if you are working without a supervisor.

Step VIII: preparing for submission

Step VIII offers advice on the practical aspects of submission. This section also includes a chapter on how to obtain a first and to avoid a fail. By following the steps in this book, incorporating feedback from your supervisor, working hard, and enjoying the process, you are well on the way to submitting a strong dissertation.

Each chapter will have numerous tasks, highlighted by the pen and notepad symbol. Many of these tasks are tools for self-evaluation with no right or wrong answers. The tasks focus on skills that will help you in the process of thinking and writing about your dissertation.

Some tasks have guidance answers, but these are indicative thoughts rather than right/wrong. The tasks are always marked with the notebook and pencil icon.

One special feature of this book is that advice from experienced examiners is incorporated into each relevant chapter, marked with the thought bubble icon. The book contains advice from dozens of academics who have supervised and examined numerous dissertations and who wanted to share their top tips with you. In every institution, there are certain things that examiners will look out for and this book has been constructed with those key points in mind.

Also included within the book are a number of examples to help you think about your topic differently, and these are marked with the lightbulb icon.

This book will give you practical guidance in how to approach all those areas highlighted in Figure 1.2. It is important to remember that guidelines for dissertation writing will vary in every institution. Some institutions will ask for 8,000-word project, whereas others might expect a 12,000-word dissertation and a research plan. Some universities offer also independent study projects that can take many forms, including placements, creative outputs, or drafting legal documents. These independent study projects can be a great way to explore something new but as the formats vary greatly, the book does not offer guidance on those. Rather, this book focuses on classic research dissertations.

Figure 1.2

The book provides for a general guidance on all key aspects, but before you read any further or embark on the process of dissertation writing, please read the following from your university:

• Specific dissertation assessment brief from your institution (e.g. word count, assessment components)
• Assessment criteria
• Supervision guidelines.

How to do well

If you read no further than this introduction, there are two things to remember if you are aiming for high marks.

First, it is essential to manage your time. A strong dissertation will require time to think and develop your ideas. It will also require time to incorporate feedback, edit, and rewrite. Therefore, excellent time management is a key component in doing well in your dissertation.

Second, enjoy the process. If you are passionate about your research, it will inspire you to put in the late nights and go the extra mile when it comes to research. The examiner can also see the enthusiasm through your writing. Therefore, choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in – and enjoy the process!

Summary

If you can answer these questions, you are ready to get started.

Figure 1.3

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Finding and perfecting your topic
• 3 From a topic to a question
• 4 Creating a good research proposal
• 5 Planning the project
• 6 Creating a research plan
• 7 Online research
• 8 Legal research methods and approaches
• 9 Empirical research
• 10 Assessing literature
• 11 Literature review
• 12 Writing the dissertation
• 13 Referencing
• 14 Structuring the dissertation
• 15 Navigating supervision
• 16 Aiming for a first and avoiding fails
• 17 Preparing for submission
• Bibliography
• Index