Legal and Social Research Methods explains the nature, purpose and principles of legal research and the methods used in carrying out a research project. Although the book deals with a variety of aspects relevant to research,its main focus is the reader who wishes to pursue research as a step towards the acquisition of a higher qualification (Master?s or Ph.D degree), or to prepare a substantial piece of research that involves a pursuit of systematic procedures unique feature of the book is that it emphasises the need to undertake, where appropriate and feasible, a social study on part of a legal research. The author has devoted a substantial part of the book (9 chapters) to explaining the nature and objectives of social research (the study of a social problem, issue or question), the techniques of data collection and the methods used for conducting such research. This makes the text equally useful for researchers in the field of law as well as in other disciplines such as sociology, political science, economics, psychology, education, mass communication, journalism, management science, or any branch of knowledge that requires a study of people, society or culture.