Research Integrity and Ethics Issues for Socio-Legal Research: An Overview by Professor John Flood
In the seminar ‘Research Integrity and Ethics Issues for Socio-Legal Research: An Overview’, Professor John Flood states that he adopts a social-legal research method to conduct research. Resembling an anthropologist, he went to pubs at night to interview clerks, lawyers, judges, workmen, middle-class men by notes-taking but not by a recorder. In one of his research works, he conducted oral history of lawyers in qualitative narrative studies. He had moved to different settings, across various firms and chambers to do the interviews, which turns out to be an unanticipated training manual. Some ethic concerns are establishing relationships with people externally beyond research, identities to be anonymous yet within a small group identities can be easily identified, data related to gangsters if being disclosed will inflict harm to society. He claims he is an accidental researcher who begins his research life as being relatively opportunistic and instrumental. He is better at qualitative studies by snowball effect rather than in statistical random sampling. He says writing in research is important.
About the speaker
Professor John Flood was the McCann FitzGerald Professor in International Law and Business at University College Dublin and he is Honorary Professor of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Westminster, London.
As a legal sociologist, John does research on the legal profession, globalization of law, large law firms, regulation of legal services, and legal education, using a number of research methods including ethnography, interviewing, and oral history. From 2012 to 2014 he held a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship examining changes in the regulation of the legal services market from a global perspective. John is also a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of the Legal Profession, Jotwell, Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, and the Journal of Professions and Organization.
Harnessing the research ethics process to develop rigorous, original research in Law by Lisa Webley
Many researchers find research ethics something of a bureaucratic hurdle that has to be overcome before they may begin their study. Ethical processes are sometimes opaque and can feel rather technocratic and impersonal. However, when ethical reflection is built into the research planning process in a holistic way it can actively improve the quality of the study undertaken, the sophistication and nuance of the research findings and the quality of the written output and its impact. This session will consider the processes at HKU that promote research ethics and integrity, with the aim of demonstrating how the researcher may make use of them so as to reflect on their standpoint, their study aims, their methods and their analyses, and to produce even higher quality research as a result.
Introduction to Postgraduate Research Studies: How to be effective and produce high quality research by Lisa Webley
This session will consider what it is to be a postgraduate research student and how to develop: a strong research question; an effective research plan; a sophisticated approach to reading and note-taking; and how to harness the writing cycle to develop analysis and critical analysis. It will help you to understand better the role of the academic literature review, and the distinction between this and your own primary research. It will provide insight into the broad range of data sources that you could draw upon in your study, beyond traditional legal sources.
Research as Ethical Endeavour: How ethical engagement and reflection can improve the quality of our research by Lisa Webley
Many researchers find research ethics something of a bureaucratic hurdle that has to be overcome before they may begin their study. Ethical processes are sometimes opaque and can feel rather technocratic and impersonal. However, when ethical reflection is built into the research planning process in a holistic way it can actively improve the quality of the study undertaken, the sophistication and nuance of the research findings and the quality of the written output and its impact. This session will consider the processes at HKU that promote research ethics and integrity, with the aim of demonstrating how the researcher may make use of them so as to reflect on their standpoint, their study aims, their methods and their analyses, and to produce even higher quality research as a result.
About the speaker
Prof. Lisa Webley has a degree in Law and postgraduate qualifications both in Law and Higher Education. She has carried out funded empirical research for a number of public bodies and organisations including: the European Commission; the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs); the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (formerly the DTI); the Law Society of England and Wales; the Legal Services Commission; the Legal Services Board; and the Victoria Law Foundation Australia. She also undertakes academic and professional consultancy work, including consultancy for City law firms. Lisa is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, and Course Director and principal teacher on the Institute’s two week intensive Introduction to Legal and Empirical Research Methods course for MPhil/PhD students.