'DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH' (black-letter law research) is research that:

Question

Accepted Answer

A. systematises legal RULES through analysis of PRIMARY SOURCES (constitutions, statutes, case law) and SECONDARY SOURCES (textbooks, journal articles) to determine 'WHAT THE LAW IS'

1. DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH (also called 'black-letter law' research) is the traditional and dominant methodology in legal scholarship.
2. It involves SYSTEMATIC EXPOSITION of legal rules through analysis of PRIMARY SOURCES (constitutions, statutes, regulations, case law) and SECONDARY SOURCES (textbooks, journals, commentaries) — to determine 'WHAT THE LAW IS' on a particular point.
3. Three sub-types: (i) descriptive (state of law); (ii) analytical (relationship between rules); (iii) reform-oriented (proposed changes).
4. The Council of Australian Law Deans Statement (2005) describes doctrinal research as 'the formulation of legal doctrines through the analysis of legal rules'.
5. Hence option B is correct.
_Source: Legal Research Methodology + Jurisprudence — Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui, 'Research Methods for Law' (2007); Council of Australian Law Deans Statement (2005)_

Answer

focuses on social impact and field observations (cf. Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui, 'Research Methods for Law' (2007); Council of Australian Law Deans Statement (2005))

Answer

studies law from a sociological angle (cf. Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui, 'Research Methods for Law' (2007); Council of Australian Law Deans Statement (2005))

Answer

uses statistical regression (cf. Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui, 'Research Methods for Law' (2007); Council of Australian Law Deans Statement (2005))