Tools of Data Collection in Empirical or Non-doctrinal Legal Research
This chapter maps the data collection tools employed in empirical legal research: observation, focused group discussions, case study, survey, and questionnaire. Discussing observation, one of the oldest and commonly used tools in social and natural sciences, it points out the benefits of observing the people in their natural setting and actions as is done in ethnographical study: conversation through interview unearths personal perspectives, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes of the interviewee. Focused group discussion is similarly used to amass valuable information from a group of people having specific experience on a topic. Case study through intensive study of individuals, institutions, instances holds the lens to the life of social unit. On the other hand, survey method takes a general view of population or community by door to door data collection, its prominent type being census. Questionnaire is a popular method of data collection by framing and communicating list of relevant questions on research topic, collecting responses and analysing them. The chapter ends by stressing on how the instruments of data collection should be carefully and objectively employed through proper procedure.