Book excerpt: Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.In this carefully drafted work, Ernst Hirsch Ballin uncovers the foundations of legal research methods, an area of legal scholarship distinctly lacking in standardisation. Offering a critical overview of the theories underlying methodological research, as well as the methods themselves, the book explores how such methods differ along critical, empirical, and fundamental lines, and how, by building on these approaches, legal research may contribute to well-considered developments in the law. Such explorative research, the author argues, is crucial in overcoming crises and restoring trust in the law.Key features include:* consideration of the theoretical underpinnings of legal research methods* special emphasis on the legal-grammatical category of personhood and on constitutional foundations* a consideration of law as a normative language intended to guide behaviour* an exploration of the common object of legal research: law in the sense of legal rules, decisions, principles and values.This Advanced Introduction will greatly benefit legal scholars who seek to understand the object and methods of their work, as well as law and philosophy students looking to grasp the theoretical and methodological foundations of law and legal development.