Legal research - An overview

Legal research is the process of conducting, identifying, and retrieving legal information required to establish facts and reach new conclusions on a decision. The research is usually an exercise undertaken for evidence-based and data-based information analysis. Usually, the writing is preferably written in plain English, as this draws real-life examples that are relatable and easily understandable by the reader. Legal research usually covers topical issues and in most instances answers questions on a law-related matter. It is essentially about understanding statutes, laws, cases, regulations, and their applications.

Therefore, proper legal reasoning is the foundation of all legal research, as this is aimed at conducting legal analysis with the sole objective of obtaining an explanation of legal concepts. As such, in the quest to prepare detailed research, it is important that information shared has to be up to date and verifiable. This is essential to give the legal research its desired credibility. According to many scholars, detailed research seeks to inform and change perceptions of a legal decision or in some circumstances assist in the analysis of a topical issue. Ultimately, research stems from the need to share knowledge and share information which ordinarily may be challenging obtaining. Of course, special attention should be given to digital research tools commonly used by students who explore various hypothetical scenarios, and legal practitioners who conduct exercises to explore the important work they do regularly in their law offices. There is an equal weight given to research and writing because both provide a good background for legal writing, legal evaluation, and legal commentary which often provides an analogy of the principle or th