Announcements

Academy Documents

Kindly access the Students' Policies & Forms by clicking on the button below. The following documents, among others, can be found there: Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy, and Student Disciplinary Policy.

Students' Policies & Forms

Online Sessions Link

To join the online sessions for this module, please click on the button below. If you are not already signed in to your Zoom account, you will be prompted to register your attendance. You will also need to enter the password provided below.

Join Session

Meeting ID: 825 1612 3636
Passcode: 217074

Please ensure that your name and surname appear as registered for the study programme, as this is essential for recording your attendance.

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

Lecturer 

Dr. Elian Scicluna

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading 

Lecture 1 - What is Legal Research Part I

• What is research?
• Types of research methods and methodologies
• What is legal research?
• Historical background of legal research
• The scope, relevance and importance of legal research

Core Reading List

• Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
• Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
• Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)
• Albright J, Putman W.H. (2015) Legal Research (Third Edition), Phoenix College

Lecture 2 - Legal Research Sources

• Who carries out legal research?
• Types of Legal Research
• Sources of information, their uses, and how to find them? (Legal databases, National Archives, Court Archives and Notarial Archives)

Core Reading List

• Sullivan, M. (2018) Statistics: Informed Decision using Data, Pearson/Prentice & Hall.
• Watkins, Dawn and Burton, M. (2018) Research Methods in Law, Routledge (2nd edition).

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Lecture 3 - Models of Legal Research

• Sources according to different legal systems
• Sources hierarchy
• Stages of legal research, Part I

Core Reading List

• Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
• Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
• Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Lecture 4 - Research Plan, Sampling, Data Collection and Interpretation Methodologies

• Stages of legal research, Part II
• Research Plan
• How to collect data? (Interviews, Questionnaires, Observations, etc.)
• Key concepts of sampling techniques
• Analysis and interpretation of data

Core Reading List

• Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
• Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
• Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Lecture 5 - Research Process Part I

• Meaning of research design
• Types of Research Designs
• Planning and designing

Core Reading List

• Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
• Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
• Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Lecture 6 - Research Process Part II and Legal Writing

• Legal Research Process, Part II
• Legal Writing

Core Reading List

• Legal Research. Cengage Learning. Albright & Putman. 2016
• Bouchoux, D., n.d. Legal Research And Writing For Paralegals
• Cahillane, L. and Schweppe, J., n.d. Legal Research Methods

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Lecture 7 - Applied Legal Research

• References and Bibliography
• Plagiarism and Collusion
• Research Ethics

Core Reading List

• Albright J, Putman W.H. (2015) Legal Research (Third Edition), Phoenix College

Supplementary Reading List

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2018) Academic Research Methods for the Law Student: A Practical Guide, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta (1^st edition)

Methods of Assessment

2 Assignments 100% of final score

Assignment

You are required to choose two of the four questions available in the Assignment Submission Form made available by clicking the button below. The assignment must be submitted no later than Thursday, 8 May 2025, along with the Assignment Submission Form. Please ensure that you indicate the question you have addressed on the Assignment Submission Form.

Assignment Submission Form

For guidance on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, please refer to the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting Your Assignment by clicking the button below.

Writing and Submitting Your Assignment

We are also providing the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric for your reference. This rubric is a performance-based assessment tool that tutors will use for grading, and it will help you understand the requirements of the assignment and how it will be assessed.

Assignments Rubric

For referencing purposes, please use the OSCOLA Referencing Guide available by clicking the button below.

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

Submitting Assignment - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you via email when the assignment questions become available. Shortly after, you will receive another email from Turnitin, likely on the same day, confirming your enrolment in a "class" where you can upload your assignment(s).

Please ensure that your assignments are submitted no later than 23:59 on the assignment submission deadline, as indicated on the Assignment Submission form or in the Turnitin "class."

At 21 Academy, you have the option to submit multiple drafts before the final submission deadline. The version uploaded at the deadline will be treated as your final submission for assessment. Please note that Turnitin evaluates the same assignment twice within a 24-hour period, so any additional submissions during this time will not be reviewed until the 24-hour period has passed. Ensure that your final submission does not exceed 20% similarity, particularly when using direct quotations.

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin

Submitting a Paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin follow this 1 minute video

Understanding the Similarity Report

Referencing Style

Law students should use the OSCOLA referencing style as it is the standard citation system for legal writing in Malta. It ensures consistency, accuracy, and clarity when referencing legal sources, which is essential for academic and professional work. The video below provides detailed guidance on how to reference using OSCOLA. Please also refer to the OSCOLA Referencing Guide by clicking the button below

OSCOLA Referencing Guide