How we use cookies

We use Google Analytics cookies to help give you the best experience on our website. By continuing without changing your cookie settings, we assume you agree to this. Please read the Law faculty's cookie statement to find out more.

Skip down to main content

Methodological Musings

A mountaineous landscape and a road

On Learning to Drive

In this post for Methodological Musings, Shruti Iyer (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford) reflects on mobility in research and shifts in relationships produced by driving.

A view over Johannesburg at night

Researching from the Diaspora: The Benefits and Challenges of an Insider Perspectives  

In this post, Abdullahi Ali Hassan reflects on his experience doing insider research from the diaspora.

A photo showing leaves layered on top of each other.

Mixed-Media: The Art of Interdisciplinary Research in Socio-Legal Studies

In this post, Zelia Gallo reflects on the joys and challenges of doing interdisciplinary research in Socio-Legal Studies.

A hand holding a smartphone

Exploring Facebook as a Research Tool

In this post, Caitlyn McGeer (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford) explores the use of social media advertisement to reach otherwise hard-to-reach participants.

A person holding a mirror reflecting the sky

Shrinks, Priests, and Academic Soul-Searching: Epistemic Reflexivity in Socio-Legal Research

In this post, Moritz Schramm (Humboldt-University of Berlin) reflects on the value of epistemic reflexivity in an academic context dominated by doctrinal research.

A book with coloured bookmarks sticking out

On My Unexpected Foray into Textual Analysis (And the Value of Methodological Flexibility)

In this post, Aadarsh Gangwar draws on his experience researching the recognition of queer asylum seekers in Switzerland to explore the value of textual analysis to the ethnographic researcher

A notebook with handwriting on a table

South Africa’s Group Areas Act and Quotidian Resistance in a Small South African Town

In this post, Dr. Faeeza Ballim reflects on the use of diverse historical sources to uncover official reasoning and local agency influencing South Africa's Group Areas Act.

A group photo showing research participants.

Inwards and Outwards: An Ethnographic Reflection on the Plural Legal System in Rural Ghana from the Perspective of a Ghanaian Scholar

In this post, Dr. Thompson Gyedu Kwarkye explores autoethnography as a Socio-Legal method by reflecting on his experience researching female traditional leaders in Ghana's plural legal system.

Two men discussing while looking at a smartphone.

Unfreedom of Information in Private Entities: What Can We Do When Vital Research Participants Won’t Talk to Us?

In this post, Anushka Mittal discusses interviews with former employees as one method to access data when a corporate environment restricts research access.

A notebook open to a blank page with a pencil on top and an eraser on the side.

Ceding Authority: Reflections on the Value of Unstructured Interviewing

In this post for Methodological Musings, Professor Linda Mulcahy reflects on the value of unstructured interviews and 'ceding control' to the interviewee to tell their story.

A person wearing a suit and tie and looking officious

First Impressions Count: Self-Presentation in Qualitative Interviews

In this post for Methodological Musings, John Taggart reflects on the importance of first impressions and self-presentation in Socio-Legal interviews.

A photo of a hand stopping wooden blocks from falling

Contemporary Reflections on the Push and Pull of the Policy Audience by Two Feminist Methodologists

In this post for Methodological Musings, Professor Linda Mulcahy and Dr Anna Tsalapatanis reflect on the implications of the push and pull of policy engagement when doing Socio-Legal work.