3.1 Research methods

The following research methods are commonly used in applied policy research.

• Doctrinal research uses legal databases and journals to find out what the law is and the analysis of that law by academics and legal professionals.
• Statistical research looks at data from publicly available data sets, such as the Office for National Statistics or government websites.
• Freedom of information (FOI) requests are used by researchers to collate information from public bodies. The public body must respond to the request within 20 working days.
• Documentary research involves reading, analysing and interpreting documents (written text, images, oral recordings and virtual sources, such as information from the internet).
• Comparative research finds out what laws and regulations exist on an issue in other countries.
• A survey collects information or data from stakeholders through an online survey. Please note that permission will not be granted for contact with those with lived experience of the topic under discussion. You will normally be expected to make contact only with organisations and professionals working in the area of law.
• Interviews and focus groups are recorded meetings with one person (an interview) or a small group of people (a focus group) in order to obtain information and views on an issue. Note that permission will not be granted for contact with those with lived experience of the topic under discussion. You will normally be expected to make contact only with organisations and professionals working in the area of law.

Figure 7 Research can be carried out in different ways

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Figure 7 shows four images arranged in a grid. They depict different ways of carrying out research. The top-left image is a row of law reports in a library. The top-right image is a collection of reports containing statistics, bar charts and pie charts. A magnifying glass sits on top of the reports. The bottom-left image is a cartoon of an iPad and mobile phone displaying boxes to tick, and the caption ‘online survey’. The bottom-right image is a cartoon of four individuals sitting around a table discussing something; one person has a laptop open and is typing.

Figure 7 Research can be carried out in different ways

These research methods are divided into quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research involves the generation of data in a way that can be ‘objectively’ measured with numbers – for example, through numerical comparisons and statistical analysis. Qualitative research involves the collection of data that is subjective, such as the participants’ attitudes, opinions and behaviour, which has to be interpreted by the researcher. As a researcher, you therefore need to be aware of your underlying motivations and your implicit knowledge, beliefs and traditions in order not to unduly influence the data you are collating.

You will now consider the different research methods listed above and decide whether they are quantitative or qualitative.