UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

This unit involves the completion of a short assessable proposal, followed by the submission of a 7000-word supervised research paper. It also requires attendance in or listening to a number of seminars prescribed for Advanced Legal Research A and B."

The unit aims to provide students with the opportunity to choose a specific topic on an area of the law which interests them, and to produce a written piece of legal research which is in a publishable form. It therefore promotes research skills and facilitates the publication of their work.

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 1	UWA (Perth)	Face to face
Semester 2	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) demonstrate independent legal research skills, including the location of journal articles and other publications relevant to their topic of research, time management, and independent thinking; (2) navigate the research project process; (3) construct a summary of the research to be undertaken, including strategising methodology to be used and clarifying the scope of the research, to justify the value of the research; and (4) appraise and argue a very specific, narrow and particular legal theory and/or legal issue.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) submission of a 1000-word research proposal and (2) submission of a 7000-word research paper on a topic approved by the student's supervisor. Further information is available in the unit outline.

Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Dr Sagi Peari

Unit rules

Prerequisites

Successful completion of 66 points
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering
and 30 points

LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation

) )

Advisable prior study

It is advisable to have previously completed
or to be currently enrolled in a unit appropriate for the chosen topic for the research paper.
For students without a recognised Law degree, LAWS4227 Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions is an advisable prerequisite.
Enrolment is subject to the approval of the Unit Coordinator.

Contact hours

This research unit involves unstructured contact with a supervisor throughout the semester.

Note

Students must not enrol in this unit until they have discussed the suitability and relevance of a potential topic with the proposed supervisor. Enrolment in this unit is conditional on the availability of an appropriate supervisor and approval by the Unit Coordinator.

This unit must be completed in one semester. Students can enrol in this unit in either Semester 1 or Semester 2 of any year.

The process is: (1) Request the Supervisor Nomination Form from the Unit Co-ordinator and ask for advice about identifying a supervisor; (2) Student identifies a potential thesis topic, and then identifies a suitable supervisor with expertise in this area. Your supervisor will ideally be a Law School academic staff member. A full list of academic staff can be found here https://www.law.uwa.edu.au/contact/staff; (3) approach your proposed supervisor to discuss their availability to supervise and your proposed topic; (4) complete the application form, and ask the supervisor who has agreed to supervise to sign the form; (5) Send the completed form to the Unit Coordinator via email (pay attention to the deadline), and meanwhile enrol in the unit online by yourself; (6) Once the above processes are completed, your online enrolment will still remain 'invalid' but the Law Support Office will enrol you manually into the unit. Please note, if you do not complete and return your Supervisor Nomination Form, you will not be enrolled in the unit and your enrolment will remain ‘invalid'.

Guidelines for style, format and submission of research papers are the same as for Advanced Legal Research dissertations; refer to the Advanced Legal Research Guidelines on LMS.

THE DUE DATE FOR THIS PAPER IS 4PM ON THE FINAL DAY OF SEMESTER; THAT IS, FRIDAY BEFORE STUDY WEEK BEGINS.

Texts

Students are required to read relevant chapters of the below texts (more detail in unit outline):

Mike McConville, and Wing Hong (Eric) Chui (eds.), Research Methods for Law, (2nd ed., Edinburgh University Press, 2017).

Dawn Watkins and Mandy Burton, Research Methods in Law, (2nd ed., Routledge, 2017).

Terry Hutchinson, Researching and Writing the Law (4th ed, Lawbook Thomson Reuters, 2018).