ABSTRACT

Given the increasingly competitive higher education (HE) marketplace, it is becoming progressively more important for university law schools to distinguish their offer. In England and Wales, it is commonplace for non-law undergraduate degree programmes to incorporate compulsory empirical research training within discrete modules or as part of a broader research skills package. Yet this element is typically missing from traditional LLB programmes. Addressing the gap in the literature around HE students’ perceptions of conducting empirical research, in this paper we explore insights into the benefits of or barriers to undertaking such research and the extent to which students believe that it should form part of their undergraduate experience. This paper is based on findings from a small-scale, pilot case study at a post-1992 higher education institution (HEI) involving students who participated in an extracurricular empirical research evaluation project. The findings reveal perceived benefits for three key stakeholder groups: students as researchers, the host HEI and the local community where the research took place. Drawing on these themes, we conclude by offering recommendations for law schools to learn from their counterparts in other disciplines and explore potential opportunities for incorporating empirically based research training within law undergraduate degree programmes.

摘要

鉴于竞争日益激烈的高等教育（HE）市场，大学法学院区分他们的报价变得越来越重要。在英格兰和威尔士，非法律本科学位课程将强制性实证研究培训纳入离散模块或作为更广泛的研究技能包的一部分是司空见惯的。然而，传统的法学学士学位课程通常缺少这一要素。针对高等教育学生对开展实证研究的看法的文献空白，在本文中，我们探讨了开展此类研究的好处或障碍，以及学生认为它应该在多大程度上成为他们本科经历的一部分。本文基于小规模研究，1992 年后高等教育机构 (HEI) 的试点案例研究，涉及参加课外实证研究评估项目的学生。调查结果揭示了三个关键利益相关者群体的感知利益：作为研究人员的学生、东道国 HEI 和进行研究的当地社区。基于这些主题，我们最后为法学院提供建议，以向其他学科的同行学习，并探索将基于经验的研究培训纳入法学本科学位课程的潜在机会。东道主 HEI 和进行研究的当地社区。基于这些主题，我们最后为法学院提供建议，以向其他学科的同行学习，并探索将基于经验的研究培训纳入法学本科学位课程的潜在机会。东道主 HEI 和进行研究的当地社区。基于这些主题，我们最后为法学院提供建议，以向其他学科的同行学习，并探索将基于经验的研究培训纳入法学本科学位课程的潜在机会。