“Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.”
- Albert Scezt-Gyorgyi
 
Research is looking at the available information with a new perspective in order to enhance the understanding of a particular subject. A good research provides a strong foundation and good raw material for the concerned work, irrespective of the domain in which that work is being conducted. Legal research involves identification and extraction of relevant information. Broadly, the ultimate aim of this is to unravel the true nature of law for further application to the socio-economic and political domains of the society.
Legal research holds immense importance in today’s legal education system. It is evident from the fact that law students are now generally made to do this exercise during the course of their academic life as a part of their curriculum to increase their legal acumen.
It helps to understand the correct position of law applicable to a situation. It highlights the gaps or ambiguities in law. It helps in ascertaining the consistency of legal provisions. Further, it brings to light as to whether the law needs reformation or whether it is abreast of and keeping pace with the societal developments.
Significance of legal research also depends on the frame of reference and also from the point of view as to who is undertaking the research. A judge may require it to make a judicial decision by applying the correct law, while a legal counsel representing his client may require it for giving a legal backing to the evidence adduced by him to support his arguments. At the same time, a legal academician’s goal might be to gather evidence to verify his hypothesis.
Certainly, legal research is a constructive instrument for understanding the law and its application.
 
Shruti Saxena is a law graduate from Amity Law School, Delhi (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University) and is enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. During her academic career, she had participated in international moots.