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• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

• Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

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Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

• Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
• Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

• The proposed title of your project
• Your supervisor’s name
• Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

• Introduce your topic
• Give necessary background and context
• Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

• Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
• How much is already known about the topic
• What is missing from this current knowledge
• What new insights your research will contribute
• Why you believe this research is worth doing

As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

• Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
• Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

• Improving best practices
• Informing policymaking decisions
• Strengthening a theory or model
• Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
• Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

• Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
• Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
• Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

• Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
• Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
• Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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Legal Research Strategy

Preliminary analysis, organization, secondary sources, primary sources, updating research, identifying an end point, getting help, about this guide.

This guide will walk a beginning researcher though the legal research process step-by-step. These materials are created with the 1L Legal Research & Writing course in mind. However, these resources will also assist upper-level students engaged in any legal research project.

How to Strategize

Legal research must be comprehensive and precise.  One contrary source that you miss may invalidate other sources you plan to rely on.  Sticking to a strategy will save you time, ensure completeness, and improve your work product. 

Follow These Steps

Running Time: 3 minutes, 13 seconds.

Make sure that you don't miss any steps by using our:

• Legal Research Strategy Checklist

If you get stuck at any time during the process, check this out:

• Ten Tips for Moving Beyond the Brick Wall in the Legal Research Process, by Marsha L. Baum

Understanding the Legal Questions

A legal question often originates as a problem or story about a series of events. In law school, these stories are called fact patterns. In practice, facts may arise from a manager or an interview with a potential client. Start by doing the following:

• Read anything you have been given
• Analyze the facts and frame the legal issues
• Assess what you know and need to learn
• Note the jurisdiction and any primary law you have been given
• Generate potential search terms

Jurisdiction

Legal rules will vary depending on where geographically your legal question will be answered. You must determine the jurisdiction in which your claim will be heard. These resources can help you learn more about jurisdiction and how it is determined:

• Legal Treatises on Jurisdiction
• LII Wex Entry on Jurisdiction

This map indicates which states are in each federal appellate circuit:

Getting Started

Once you have begun your research, you will need to keep track of your work. Logging your research will help you to avoid missing sources and explain your research strategy. You will likely be asked to explain your research process when in practice. Researchers can keep paper logs, folders on Westlaw or Lexis, or online citation management platforms.

Organizational Methods

Tracking with paper or excel.

Many researchers create their own tracking charts.  Be sure to include:

• Search Date
• Topics/Keywords/Search Strategy
• Citation to Relevant Source Found
• Save Locations
• Follow Up Needed

Consider using the following research log as a starting place: 

• Sample Research Log

Tracking with Folders

Westlaw and Lexis offer options to create folders, then save and organize your materials there.

• Lexis Advance Folders
• Westlaw Edge Folders

Tracking with Citation Management Software

For long term projects, platforms such as Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, or Refworks might be useful. These are good tools to keep your research well organized. Note, however, that none of these platforms substitute for doing your own proper Bluebook citations. Learn more about citation management software on our other research guides:

• Guide to Zotero for Harvard Law Students by Harvard Law School Library Research Services Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 176 views this year

Types of Sources

There are three different types of sources: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.  When doing legal research you will be using mostly primary and secondary sources.  We will explore these different types of sources in the sections below.

Secondary sources often explain legal principles more thoroughly than a single case or statute. Starting with them can help you save time.

Secondary sources are particularly useful for:

• Learning the basics of a particular area of law
• Understanding key terms of art in an area
• Identifying essential cases and statutes

Consider the following when deciding which type of secondary source is right for you:

• Scope/Breadth
• Depth of Treatment
• Currentness/Reliability

For a deep dive into secondary sources visit:

• Secondary Sources: ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews, Restatements, & Treatises by Catherine Biondo Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 3017 views this year

Legal Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Legal dictionaries.

Legal dictionaries are similar to other dictionaries that you have likely used before.

• Black's Law Dictionary
• Ballentine's Law Dictionary

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain brief, broad summaries of legal topics, providing introductions and explaining terms of art. They also provide citations to primary law and relevant major law review articles.  

Here are the two major national encyclopedias:

• American Jurisprudence (AmJur) This resource is also available in Westlaw & Lexis .
• Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)

Treatises are books on legal topics.  These books are a good place to begin your research.  They provide explanation, analysis, and citations to the most relevant primary sources. Treatises range from single subject overviews to deep treatments of broad subject areas.

It is important to check the date when the treatise was published. Many are either not updated, or are updated through the release of newer editions.

To find a relevant treatise explore:

• Legal Treatises by Subject by Catherine Biondo Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 2215 views this year

American Law Reports (ALR)

American Law Reports (ALR) contains in-depth articles on narrow topics of the law. ALR articles, are often called annotations. They provide background, analysis, and citations to relevant cases, statutes, articles, and other annotations. ALR annotations are invaluable tools to quickly find primary law on narrow legal questions.

This resource is available in both Westlaw and Lexis:

• American Law Reports on Westlaw (includes index)
• American Law Reports on Lexis

Law Reviews & Journals

Law reviews are scholarly publications, usually edited by law students in conjunction with faculty members. They contain both lengthy articles and shorter essays by professors and lawyers. They also contain comments, notes, or developments in the law written by law students. Articles often focus on new or emerging areas of law and may offer critical commentary. Some law reviews are dedicated to a particular topic while others are general. Occasionally, law reviews will include issues devoted to proceedings of panels and symposia.

Law review and journal articles are extremely narrow and deep with extensive references. 

To find law review articles visit:

• Law Journal Library on HeinOnline
• Law Reviews & Journals on LexisNexis
• Law Reviews & Journals on Westlaw

Restatements

Restatements are highly regarded distillations of common law, prepared by the American Law Institute (ALI). ALI is a prestigious organization comprised of judges, professors, and lawyers. They distill the "black letter law" from cases to indicate trends in common law. Resulting in a “restatement” of existing common law into a series of principles or rules. Occasionally, they make recommendations on what a rule of law should be.

Restatements are not primary law. However, they are considered persuasive authority by many courts.

Restatements are organized into chapters, titles, and sections.  Sections contain the following:

• a concisely stated rule of law,
• comments to clarify the rule,
• hypothetical examples,
• explanation of purpose, and
• exceptions to the rule  

To access restatements visit:

• American Law Institute Library on HeinOnline
• Restatements & Principles of the Law on LexisNexis
• Restatements & Principles of Law on Westlaw

Primary Authority

Primary authority is "authority that issues directly from a law-making body."   Authority , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).   Sources of primary authority include:

• Constitutions
• Statutes 

Regulations

Access to primary legal sources is available through:

• Bloomberg Law
• Free & Low Cost Alternatives

Statutes (also called legislation) are "laws enacted by legislative bodies", such as Congress and state legislatures.  Statute , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

We typically start primary law research here. If there is a controlling statute, cases you look for later will interpret that law. There are two types of statutes, annotated and unannotated.

Annotated codes are a great place to start your research. They combine statutory language with citations to cases, regulations, secondary sources, and other relevant statutes. This can quickly connect you to the most relevant cases related to a particular law. Unannotated Codes provide only the text of the statute without editorial additions. Unannotated codes, however, are more often considered official and used for citation purposes.

For a deep dive on federal and state statutes, visit:

• Statutes: US and State Codes by Mindy Kent Last Updated Feb 16, 2024 1754 views this year
• 50 State Surveys

Want to learn more about the history or legislative intent of a law?  Learn how to get started here:

• Legislative History Get an introduction to legislative histories in less than 5 minutes.
• Federal Legislative History Research Guide

Regulations are rules made by executive departments and agencies. Not every legal question will require you to search regulations. However, many areas of law are affected by regulations. So make sure not to skip this step if they are relevant to your question.

To learn more about working with regulations, visit:

• Administrative Law Research by AJ Blechner Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 362 views this year

Case Basics

In many areas, finding relevant caselaw will comprise a significant part of your research. This Is particularly true in legal areas that rely heavily on common law principles.

Running Time: 3 minutes, 10 seconds.

Unpublished Cases

Up to  86% of federal case opinions are unpublished. You must determine whether your jurisdiction will consider these unpublished cases as persuasive authority. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure have an overarching rule, Rule 32.1  Each circuit also has local rules regarding citations to unpublished opinions. You must understand both the Federal Rule and the rule in your jurisdiction.

• Federal and Local Rules of Appellate Procedure 32.1 (Dec. 2021).
• Type of Opinion or Order Filed in Cases Terminated on the Merits, by Circuit (Sept. 2021).

Each state also has its own local rules which can often be accessed through:

• State Bar Associations
• State Courts Websites

First Circuit

• First Circuit Court Rule 32.1.0

Second Circuit

• Second Circuit Court Rule 32.1.1

Third Circuit

• Third Circuit Court Rule 5.7

Fourth Circuit

• Fourth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Fifth Circuit

• Fifth Circuit Court Rule 47.5

Sixth Circuit

• Sixth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Seventh Circuit

• Seventh Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Eighth Circuit

• Eighth Circuit Court Rule 32.1A

Ninth Circuit

• Ninth Circuit Court Rule 36-3

Tenth Circuit

• Tenth Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Eleventh Circuit

• Eleventh Circuit Court Rule 32.1

D.C. Circuit

• D.C. Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Federal Circuit

• Federal Circuit Court Rule 32.1

Finding Cases

Headnotes show the key legal points in a case. Legal databases use these headnotes to guide researchers to other cases on the same topic. They also use them to organize concepts explored in cases by subject. Publishers, like Westlaw and Lexis, create headnotes, so they are not consistent across databases.

Headnotes are organized by subject into an outline that allows you to search by subject. This outline is known as a "digest of cases." By browsing or searching the digest you can retrieve all headnotes covering a particular topic. This can help you identify particularly important cases on the relevant subject.

Running Time: 4 minutes, 43 seconds.

Each major legal database has its own digest:

• Topic Navigator (Lexis)
• Key Digest System (Westlaw)

Start by identifying a relevant topic in a digest.  Then you can limit those results to your jurisdiction for more relevant results.  Sometimes, you can keyword search within only the results on your topic in your jurisdiction.  This is a particularly powerful research method.

One Good Case Method

After following the steps above, you will have identified some relevant cases on your topic. You can use good cases you find to locate other cases addressing the same topic. These other cases often apply similar rules to a range of diverse fact patterns.

• in Lexis click "More Like This Headnote"
• in Westlaw click "Cases that Cite This Headnote"

to focus on the terms of art or key words in a particular headnote. You can use this feature to find more cases with similar language and concepts.  ​

Ways to Use Citators

A citator is "a catalogued list of cases, statutes, and other legal sources showing the subsequent history and current precedential value of those sources.  Citators allow researchers to verify the authority of a precedent and to find additional sources relating to a given subject." Citator , Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

Each major legal database has its own citator.  The two most popular are Keycite on Westlaw and Shepard's on Lexis.

• Keycite Information Page
• Shepard's Information Page

Making Sure Your Case is Still Good Law

This video answers common questions about citators:

For step-by-step instructions on how to use Keycite and Shepard's see the following:

• Shepard's Video Tutorial
• Shepard's Handout
• Shepard's Editorial Phrase Dictionary
• KeyCite Video Tutorial
• KeyCite Handout
• KeyCite Editorial Phrase Dictionary

Using Citators For

Citators serve three purposes: (1) case validation, (2) better understanding, and (3) additional research.

Case Validation

Is my case or statute good law?

• Parallel citations
• Prior and subsequent history
• Negative treatment suggesting you should no longer cite to holding.

Better Understanding

Has the law in this area changed?

• Later cases on the same point of law
• Positive treatment, explaining or expanding the law.
• Negative Treatment, narrowing or distinguishing the law.

Track Research

Who is citing and writing about my case or statute?

• Secondary sources that discuss your case or statute.
• Cases in other jurisdictions that discuss your case or statute.

Knowing When to Start Writing

For more guidance on when to stop your research see:

• Terminating Research, by Christina L. Kunz

Automated Services

Automated services can check your work and ensure that you are not missing important resources. You can learn more about several automated brief check services.  However, these services are not a replacement for conducting your own diligent research .

• Automated Brief Check Instructional Video

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This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License .

You may reproduce any part of it for noncommercial purposes as long as credit is included and it is shared in the same manner. 

• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023 2:56 PM
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Guide Writing a Legal Research Proposal

Table of Contents

Writing a legal research proposal can be both daunting and exhilarating. It requires thorough research, a clear understanding of the topic, and an ability to distill complex concepts into concise, straightforward language. With proper guidance and experience, one can gain proficiency in crafting effective proposals that adhere to the conventions of their chosen field. In this article, we will discuss how to write a legal research proposal that’s persuasive and comprehensive. From identifying relevant sources to developing sound argumentation, readers will come away with the tools to create a compelling proposal. 

How to Write a Legal Research Proposal

A legal research proposal is an important document for those who are pursuing a career in the field of law . It serves as a written outline of one’s proposed approach to researching a particular issue. Also, it provides educational institutions with evidence that an applicant has the knowledge and skills required to complete said research successfully. To write a strong legal research proposal, it is important to understand what elements should be included in the document. Similarly, knowing how these pieces should be organized into a cohesive whole is important. 

Have a Clear Objective

The first step towards writing an effective legal research proposal is to identify the area of study and develop a clear objective. This provides readers with information on the topic being studied, why it was chosen, and what practical implications may arise from conducting the research. 

Conduct Background Research

After deciding on a research question, the next step is to conduct background research. The background research helps you to gain a better understanding of the material already available about the subject. You can do this by reading relevant literature, interviewing experts, attending seminars, or reviewing existing case studies related to the area of inquiry. Once enough background information has been collected, the writer can develop their hypothesis. The hypothesis will serve as the basis for the remainder of their research proposal. 

Create an Outline

Once the objectives have been established, the writer should create an outline detailing their proposed methodology for completing the project. This section should describe the research methods they plan to use (e.g., interviews, surveys, archival data) and any timeline associated with each stage. Writers should also include a detailed description of any materials they plan to use during their investigation. They should explain exactly how they intend to analyze any resulting data. For example, if someone plans to conduct surveys, they should include details on survey design, sampling procedures, and analysis techniques. 

Make Sure Ethical Concerns Are Handled

Another key element of a successful legal research proposal is providing proof that all ethical considerations have been taken into account. Specifically, this means addressing any issues related to informed consent, confidentiality/privacy protection, and avoidance of harm. In other words, writers must show that any participants involved in their research activities will not suffer undue distress or physical harm. They must also ensure that sensitive personal information remains secure throughout the project. 

Perfect Your Citations

Citing sources correctly is essential when writing a research proposal. Properly citing the source of information allows readers to verify the accuracy of findings and reinforces the writer’s credibility. Additionally, writers must avoid plagiarism by properly attributing ideas from other authors or sources and always giving credit where it is due. With meticulous attention to detail, any writer can master the art of perfecting their citations for a successful research proposal. 

Final Thoughts

Now that you know how to write a legal research proposal , dig in and start writing. You can create a well-written legal research proposal by following the tips shared above. Don’t forget to proofread the proposal one final time before submitting it.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Home » How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

How To Write A Research Proposal – Step-by-Step [Template]

Table of Contents

How To Write a Research Proposal

Writing a Research proposal involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and comprehensive document. Here is an explanation of each step:

1. Title and Abstract

• Choose a concise and descriptive title that reflects the essence of your research.
• Write an abstract summarizing your research question, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. It should provide a brief overview of your proposal.

2. Introduction:

• Provide an introduction to your research topic, highlighting its significance and relevance.
• Clearly state the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Discuss the background and context of the study, including previous research in the field.

3. Research Objectives

• Outline the specific objectives or aims of your research. These objectives should be clear, achievable, and aligned with the research problem.

4. Literature Review:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings, identify gaps, and highlight how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge.

5. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to employ to address your research objectives.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques you will use.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate and suitable for your research.

6. Timeline:

• Create a timeline or schedule that outlines the major milestones and activities of your research project.
• Break down the research process into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each task.

7. Resources:

• Identify the resources needed for your research, such as access to specific databases, equipment, or funding.
• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources to carry out your research effectively.

8. Ethical Considerations:

• Discuss any ethical issues that may arise during your research and explain how you plan to address them.
• If your research involves human subjects, explain how you will ensure their informed consent and privacy.

9. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

• Clearly state the expected outcomes or results of your research.
• Highlight the potential impact and significance of your research in advancing knowledge or addressing practical issues.

10. References:

• Provide a list of all the references cited in your proposal, following a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

11. Appendices:

• Include any additional supporting materials, such as survey questionnaires, interview guides, or data analysis plans.

Research Proposal Format

The format of a research proposal may vary depending on the specific requirements of the institution or funding agency. However, the following is a commonly used format for a research proposal:

1. Title Page:

• Include the title of your research proposal, your name, your affiliation or institution, and the date.

2. Abstract:

• Provide a brief summary of your research proposal, highlighting the research problem, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.

3. Introduction:

• Introduce the research topic and provide background information.
• State the research problem or question you aim to address.
• Explain the significance and relevance of the research.
• Review relevant literature and studies related to your research topic.
• Summarize key findings and identify gaps in the existing knowledge.
• Explain how your research will contribute to filling those gaps.

5. Research Objectives:

• Clearly state the specific objectives or aims of your research.
• Ensure that the objectives are clear, focused, and aligned with the research problem.

6. Methodology:

• Describe the research design and methodology you plan to use.
• Explain the data collection methods, instruments, and analysis techniques.
• Justify why the chosen methods are appropriate for your research.

7. Timeline:

8. Resources:

• Explain how you will acquire or utilize these resources effectively.

9. Ethical Considerations:

• If applicable, explain how you will ensure informed consent and protect the privacy of research participants.

10. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

11. References:

12. Appendices:

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a template for a research proposal:

1. Introduction:

2. Literature Review:

3. Research Objectives:

4. Methodology:

5. Timeline:

6. Resources:

7. Ethical Considerations:

8. Expected Outcomes and Significance:

9. References:

10. Appendices:

Research Proposal Sample

Title: The Impact of Online Education on Student Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Study

1. Introduction

Online education has gained significant prominence in recent years, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes by comparing them with traditional face-to-face instruction. The study will explore various aspects of online education, such as instructional methods, student engagement, and academic performance, to provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this research are as follows:

• To compare student learning outcomes between online and traditional face-to-face education.
• To examine the factors influencing student engagement in online learning environments.
• To assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods employed in online education.
• To identify challenges and opportunities associated with online education and suggest recommendations for improvement.

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Design

This research will utilize a mixed-methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The study will include the following components:

3.2 Participants

The research will involve undergraduate students from two universities, one offering online education and the other providing face-to-face instruction. A total of 500 students (250 from each university) will be selected randomly to participate in the study.

3.3 Data Collection

The research will employ the following data collection methods:

• Quantitative: Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure students’ learning outcomes. Data on student demographics and academic performance will also be collected from university records.
• Qualitative: Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be conducted with students to gather their perceptions and experiences regarding online education.

3.4 Data Analysis

Quantitative data will be analyzed using statistical software, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, and regression analysis. Qualitative data will be transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns and themes.

4. Ethical Considerations

The study will adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Informed consent will be obtained, and participants will have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

5. Significance and Expected Outcomes

This research will contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of online education on student learning outcomes. The findings will help educational institutions and policymakers make informed decisions about incorporating online learning methods and improving the quality of online education. Moreover, the study will identify potential challenges and opportunities related to online education and offer recommendations for enhancing student engagement and overall learning outcomes.

6. Timeline

The proposed research will be conducted over a period of 12 months, including data collection, analysis, and report writing.

The estimated budget for this research includes expenses related to data collection, software licenses, participant compensation, and research assistance. A detailed budget breakdown will be provided in the final research plan.

8. Conclusion

This research proposal aims to investigate the impact of online education on student learning outcomes through a comparative study with traditional face-to-face instruction. By exploring various dimensions of online education, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and challenges associated with online learning. The findings will contribute to the ongoing discourse on educational practices and help shape future strategies for maximizing student learning outcomes in online education settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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LEGAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND ITS ENTAILS Written by Saphy Lal Bullu Lecturer

This article addresses the essential elements which are required for writing reference with specific focus to the legal research proposal. An author intends to articulate organised structure and methods as required to appear in to any legal proposal research which at the end of the intended work; a student shall be able to present findings and conclusion through broken and clear steps which were taken at the beginning of the thesis/dissertation.

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Evropský politický a právní diskurz

Ganiyu Yahaya, Ph.D, MCIArb(UK).

Meghna Mittal

Legal research, a vital player in the course of development of a society, underpins the pressing need for quality research in the country. Legal research is not essentially different from other types of research. This is too searching for authority to substantiate some hypothesis and is a probable outcome. Its issues of enquiry naturally relate to pure law or law in relation to society. India has an important role to play in the world community, especially in the Asian and African regions. The need for research in inter-American law was emphasised in the U.S.A. in 1945 and the U.S.A. is bringing out a separate literature on the subject. Moreover, till now, India has been completely tied down to the chariot wheel of the English Common law. The Legal research in India can only be understood in the context of restraints under which it is produced. With notable exceptions, Indian academic legal scholars are generally ignored by the legal profession, the government and lay public. Deprived funds and resources, they struggle for efficiency, style and effect. Independent India has demonstrated a very strong commitment to law and the development of legal doctrine. Opinions vary on whether this was intended to achieve distributive justice or to conceal patterns of legal suppression. There was a new Constitution but only a 'scissor and paste' cosmopolitan jurisprudence to interpret it. Mature legal research has largely been produced under the support of endowment lectures, of which the most celebrated are the Tagore Law Lectures, begun in the latter part of the 19th century. As new law schools were established throughout the country, there were new possibilities for research. The least productive area of research was the codified part of private and commercial law. Personal law produced some research as it interacted with the framework of the Hindu Code. The codification of Indian law in the 19th century created a tribe of digest and practitioner textbook writers. The textbook writers included well-known names like Pollock, Mulla (later in the Privy Council), Hari Singh Gaur and Ameer Ali. These classics, reflecting an Indian 'black letter' law tradition, continue to be edited by eminent judges and practicing lawyers. Legal scholars and lawyers were always interested in legal reform and development and adaption of law in accordance with the changing needs of society. This paper focuses on how legal research has been evolved in the society and its effects in the development of legal system.

Jahlan Remtula

Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and concludes with the application and communication of the results of the investigation."

Dr. Jayanta Ghosh

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR LEGAL RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Anjali Mohandas

Generally, research means to search again. Research is an investigation that is based on the source of law. Legal research is not only about reading books, principles, regulations, etc but the whole idea behind doing research is to dig more deeply and examine a subject that you need to know. The research report acts as Skelton of that particular research that includes the all-important aspect of that research. This paper discusses the basic elements of the research report and how to prepare and present a legal research report

Ajit Maharana

Syiah Kuala Law Journal

Bakti Bakti

This paper is intended to understand the description and characteristics of legal research produced by law faculty students and developed by law scientists and researchers at Syiah Kuala University as a sample case. Does the description of the research results of legal researchers, including students and legal scientists, follow the characteristics and legal paradigms that tend to be classical or have they led to the development of contemporary legal theories.

The writer looked at the problems involved in writing a legal research proposal by identifying some of the basic challenges such as the choice of topic, resource materials, methodology and the theoretical framework to be adopted for the research. The aim is to take a holistic overview of a legal research methodology. The primary and secondary sources of material selection were used through the use of the law libraries and the internet as well as journals and periodicals to gather information for this study. The study shows that legal research works are still much being conducted under the doctrinal method which is not empirical in view of the fact that analysis of statistical data or qualitative methodology is often viewed as the concern of the pure scientist rather than in the humanities. In conclusion, it was observed and recommended that the need to embark on empirical legal research methodology cannot be over emphasized as it is the only panacea by which the sociological effect of the law could be attained in the 21 st century. Introduction The development of the law will to a great extent be subjected to obsolete and archaic postulation and outdated rules that may be out of tune with those the laws supposed to govern if there is no consistent research that is being conducted from time to time to evaluate its operation within a particular geographical legal system. Therefore, this underscore the essence of a legal research not only in law but virtually in all other subjects in order to better the lot of the people the world over. For example, a research could have the aims of probing into the causes of plane crashes and the like globally with a view to steming the tide. The concomitant effect of this may at the end of the day be geared towards the total eradication of plane crashes globally or at least to bring it under a bearable condition. Aside, it may be conducted on the causes of the recent religion ‗sect' called ‗Boko Haram' in Nigeria that had been taking it tolls on the lives of the citizenry in the country with a view to finding a lasting solution to it by way of offering some necessary recommendations to the government of the day. These hiccups are problems which pose great challenges to human existence and therefore, they are meant to be solved in order to ensure safety of every individual and to guarantee the Fundamental Human Rights of all Nigerians as enshrined under chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution 76 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Before going into the ‗nitty gritty' of this topic, it is imperative that one need to define what a research is in order to fully comprehend the scope of this paper.

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The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting research are governed by standards of the predominant discipline in which the problem resides, therefore, the guidelines for research proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and benefits derived from the study's completion.

Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

How to Approach Writing a Research Proposal

Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:

• Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study;
• Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to determine that the research problem has not been adequately addressed or has been answered ineffectively and, in so doing, become better at locating pertinent scholarship related to your topic;
• Improve your general research and writing skills;
• Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to accomplish one's research goals;
• Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem; and,
• Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active participant in the process of conducting scholarly research.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those findings. Finally, an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and, therefore, it is important that your proposal is coherent, clear, and compelling.

Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions:

• What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem and what it is you are proposing to investigate.
• Why do you want to do the research? In addition to detailing your research design, you also must conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that it is a topic worthy of in-depth study. A successful research proposal must answer the "So What?" question.
• How are you going to conduct the research? Be sure that what you propose is doable. If you're having difficulty formulating a research problem to propose investigating, go here for strategies in developing a problem to study.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Failure to be concise . A research proposal must be focused and not be "all over the map" or diverge into unrelated tangents without a clear sense of purpose.
• Failure to cite landmark works in your literature review . Proposals should be grounded in foundational research that lays a foundation for understanding the development and scope of the the topic and its relevance.
• Failure to delimit the contextual scope of your research [e.g., time, place, people, etc.]. As with any research paper, your proposed study must inform the reader how and in what ways the study will frame the problem.
• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research . This is critical. In many workplace settings, the research proposal is a formal document intended to argue for why a study should be funded.
• Sloppy or imprecise writing, or poor grammar . Although a research proposal does not represent a completed research study, there is still an expectation that it is well-written and follows the style and rules of good academic writing.
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues . Your proposal should focus on only a few key research questions in order to support the argument that the research needs to be conducted. Minor issues, even if valid, can be mentioned but they should not dominate the overall narrative.

Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal.  The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Sanford, Keith. Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal. Baylor University; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Structure and Writing Style

Beginning the Proposal Process

As with writing most college-level academic papers, research proposals are generally organized the same way throughout most social science disciplines. The text of proposals generally vary in length between ten and thirty-five pages, followed by the list of references. However, before you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.

A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:

• What do I want to study?
• Why is the topic important?
• How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
• What problems will it help solve?
• How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on the topic?
• What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?

In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like, "Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!"

Most proposals should include the following sections:

I.  Introduction

In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write a doctoral dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea based on a thorough examination of the significance of a research problem. After reading the introduction, your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want to do, but they should also be able to gain a sense of your passion for the topic and to be excited about the study's possible outcomes. Note that most proposals do not include an abstract [summary] before the introduction.

Think about your introduction as a narrative written in two to four paragraphs that succinctly answers the following four questions :

• What is the central research problem?
• What is the topic of study related to that research problem?
• What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?
• Answer the "So What?" question by explaining why this is important research, what is its significance, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the outcomes of the proposed study?

II.  Background and Significance

This is where you explain the scope and context of your proposal and describe in detail why it's important. It can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with the organization and narrative flow of your proposal. Approach writing this section with the thought that you can’t assume your readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay going over everything you have learned about the topic; instead, you must choose what is most relevant in explaining the aims of your research.

To that end, while there are no prescribed rules for establishing the significance of your proposed study, you should attempt to address some or all of the following:

• State the research problem and give a more detailed explanation about the purpose of the study than what you stated in the introduction. This is particularly important if the problem is complex or multifaceted .
• Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing; be sure to answer the "So What? question [i.e., why should anyone care?].
• Describe the major issues or problems examined by your research. This can be in the form of questions to be addressed. Be sure to note how your proposed study builds on previous assumptions about the research problem.
• Explain the methods you plan to use for conducting your research. Clearly identify the key sources you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to your analysis of the topic.
• Describe the boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus. Where appropriate, state not only what you plan to study, but what aspects of the research problem will be excluded from the study.
• If necessary, provide definitions of key concepts, theories, or terms.

III.  Literature Review

Connected to the background and significance of your study is a section of your proposal devoted to a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation . The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while at the same time, demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methodological approaches they have used, and what is your understanding of their findings and, when stated, their recommendations. Also pay attention to any suggestions for further research.

Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your proposed study in relation to the arguments put forth by other researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories" [themes] rather than systematically or chronologically describing groups of materials one at a time. Note that conceptual categories generally reveal themselves after you have read most of the pertinent literature on your topic so adding new categories is an on-going process of discovery as you review more studies. How do you know you've covered the key conceptual categories underlying the research literature? Generally, you can have confidence that all of the significant conceptual categories have been identified if you start to see repetition in the conclusions or recommendations that are being made.

NOTE: Do not shy away from challenging the conclusions made in prior research as a basis for supporting the need for your proposal. Assess what you believe is missing and state how previous research has failed to adequately examine the issue that your study addresses. Highlighting the problematic conclusions strengthens your proposal. For more information on writing literature reviews, GO HERE .

To help frame your proposal's review of prior research, consider the "five C’s" of writing a literature review:

• Cite , so as to keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.
• Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the research problem?
• Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches, and controversies expressed in the literature: describe what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate among scholars?
• Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, and methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, argues, etc.].
• Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw upon, depart from, synthesize, or add a new perspective to what has been said in the literature?

IV.  Research Design and Methods

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the research, yet, your reader must have confidence that you have a plan worth pursuing . The reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. Thus, the objective here is to convince the reader that your overall research design and proposed methods of analysis will correctly address the problem and that the methods will provide the means to effectively interpret the potential results. Your design and methods should be unmistakably tied to the specific aims of your study.

Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the literature. Consider not only methods that other researchers have used, but methods of data gathering that have not been used but perhaps could be. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to obtain information, the techniques you would use to analyze the data, and the tests of external validity to which you commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other people, places, events, and/or periods of time].

When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover the following:

• Specify the research process you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results obtained in relation to the research problem. Don't just describe what you intend to achieve from applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend your time while applying these methods [e.g., coding text from interviews to find statements about the need to change school curriculum; running a regression to determine if there is a relationship between campaign advertising on social media sites and election outcomes in Europe ].
• Keep in mind that the methodology is not just a list of tasks; it is a deliberate argument as to why techniques for gathering information add up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is an important point because the mere listing of tasks to be performed does not demonstrate that, collectively, they effectively address the research problem. Be sure you clearly explain this.
• Anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your research design and explain how you plan to address them. No method applied to research in the social and behavioral sciences is perfect, so you need to describe where you believe challenges may exist in obtaining data or accessing information. It's always better to acknowledge this than to have it brought up by your professor!

V.  Preliminary Suppositions and Implications

Just because you don't have to actually conduct the study and analyze the results, doesn't mean you can skip talking about the analytical process and potential implications . The purpose of this section is to argue how and in what ways you believe your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in the subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and objectives of your study, describe how the anticipated results will impact future scholarly research, theory, practice, forms of interventions, or policy making. Note that such discussions may have either substantive [a potential new policy], theoretical [a potential new understanding], or methodological [a potential new way of analyzing] significance.   When thinking about the potential implications of your study, ask the following questions:

• What might the results mean in regards to challenging the theoretical framework and underlying assumptions that support the study?
• What suggestions for subsequent research could arise from the potential outcomes of the study?
• What will the results mean to practitioners in the natural settings of their workplace, organization, or community?
• Will the results influence programs, methods, and/or forms of intervention?
• How might the results contribute to the solution of social, economic, or other types of problems?
• Will the results influence policy decisions?
• In what way do individuals or groups benefit should your study be pursued?
• What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
• How will the results of the study be implemented and what innovations or transformative insights could emerge from the process of implementation?

NOTE:   This section should not delve into idle speculation, opinion, or be formulated on the basis of unclear evidence . The purpose is to reflect upon gaps or understudied areas of the current literature and describe how your proposed research contributes to a new understanding of the research problem should the study be implemented as designed.

ANOTHER NOTE : This section is also where you describe any potential limitations to your proposed study. While it is impossible to highlight all potential limitations because the study has yet to be conducted, you still must tell the reader where and in what form impediments may arise and how you plan to address them.

VI.  Conclusion

The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your proposal and provides a brief summary of the entire study . This section should be only one or two paragraphs long, emphasizing why the research problem is worth investigating, why your research study is unique, and how it should advance existing knowledge.

Someone reading this section should come away with an understanding of:

• Why the study should be done;
• The specific purpose of the study and the research questions it attempts to answer;
• The decision for why the research design and methods used where chosen over other options;
• The potential implications emerging from your proposed study of the research problem; and
• A sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship about the research problem.

VII.  Citations

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used . In a standard research proposal, this section can take two forms, so consult with your professor about which one is preferred.

• References -- a list of only the sources you actually used in creating your proposal.
• Bibliography -- a list of everything you used in creating your proposal, along with additional citations to any key sources relevant to understanding the research problem.

In either case, this section should testify to the fact that you did enough preparatory work to ensure the project will complement and not just duplicate the efforts of other researchers. It demonstrates to the reader that you have a thorough understanding of prior research on the topic.

Most proposal formats have you start a new page and use the heading "References" or "Bibliography" centered at the top of the page. Cited works should always use a standard format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of your course [e.g., education=APA; history=Chicago] or that is preferred by your professor. This section normally does not count towards the total page length of your research proposal.

Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal. Office of Library Information Services. Baltimore County Public Schools; Heath, M. Teresa Pereira and Caroline Tynan. “Crafting a Research Proposal.” The Marketing Review 10 (Summer 2010): 147-168; Jones, Mark. “Writing a Research Proposal.” In MasterClass in Geography Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning . Graham Butt, editor. (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), pp. 113-127; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah. “Writing a Research Proposal.” International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences 1 (September/October 2014): 229-240; Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005; Procter, Margaret. The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan. "Developing and Writing a Research Proposal." In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key Skills . Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 59-81; Wong, Paul T. P. How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western University; Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences , Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Legal research proposal Sample PDF 2024

• 3 January, 2024

This is a legal research proposal sample.

This sample of the legal research proposal will guide law students and lawyers in the course of conducting legal research and report writing.

Learn how to write a legal research proposal here

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Legal research proposal Sample

List of statutes, list of abbreviations and acronyms, list of international instruments, list of cases, chapter one, introduction, background to the problem, statement of the problem, hypotheses of the study, general objective, specific objective, significance of the study, literature review, research design, library research, field research, area of the study, sample population, sample size, sampling technique, questionnaire, data presentation and analysis techniques, legal research proposal sample pdf.

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The following is a sample of the legal research proposal.

AAA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LAW

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

ROLE OF COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS ACT IN PROTECTING OWNERS OF LITERARY WORKS IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

REGISTRATION NO. 111111/T.00

SUPERVISOR:  PROF. BBBB

A COMPULSORY RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF LAWS (LL.B) DEGREE OF THE AAAA UNIVERSITY

Constitution

The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977

International instruments

Agreement on the Creation of the African Regional Industrial Property Organization 1979

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971)

Patent Cooperation Treaty, 1970

Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948

World Intellectual Property Organisation Performances and Phonograms Treaty, 2002

World Intellectual Property Organisation Copyright Treaty, 1979

Legislations

Copyright Ordinance, CAP 218

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998)

The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act [CAP 218 R.E 2002]

ARIPO                        African Regional Industrial Property Organisation

CANRA                      Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act

CAP                            Chapter

CDPA                         Copyright Design and Patent Act

CERT                          Computer Emergency Response Team

Co.                              Company

Corp.                           Corporation

COSOTA                    Copyright Society of Tanzania

CURT                         Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania

DMCA                        Digital Millennium Copyright Act

DRM                           Digital Rights Management

Ed                               Editor

ed.                               Edition

G.N.                           Government Notice

http                              hypertext transfer protocol

Ibid                             ibidem(in the same place)

ICT                              Information and Communication Technology

IP                                Intellectual property

IPRs                            Intellectual property rights

LL.B                           Lex  Legum Beccalareus

Ltd                              Limited

NEC                            Nippon Electricity Company

No.                              Number

P.                                 Page

Pvt                               Private

R.E                              Revised Edition

REG.                           Registration

TRIPS                         Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreements

U.S.A                          United States of America

UK                              United Kingdom

UNESCO                     United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

V                                  Versus

Vol.                             Volume

W.T.O                         World Trade Organisation

WCT                           WIPO Copyright Treaty

WIPO                          World Intellectual Property Organisation

www                           World Wide Web

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right, 1994

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886

Directive on Electronic Commerce, Directive 2000/31/EC

Directive on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, Directive 2004/48/EC

Directive on the Harmonization of Certain Aspect of Copyright and Related Rights in Information Society, Directive 2001/29/EC

European Convention on Cybercrimes, No. 1885 of 2001

WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996

LIST OF LEGISLATIONS

Foreign Legislation

Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 (U.K)

Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 1998 (U.S.A)

Domestic Legislation

Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, [CAP 2 R.E 2002]

Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, [CAP 218 R.E 2002]

Cybercrime Act, No. 4 of 2015

Regulations

Copyright (Licensing of Public Performances and Broadcasting) Regulations, GN No. 328 of October 2003

Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Production and Distribution of Sound and Audiovisual, Recordings) 2006 GN No.18 of January 2006

Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Registration of Members and Their Works) Regulations, GN No. 6 of January 2006

Electronic and Postal Communications (Computer Emergency Response Team) Regulations, G.N. No. 419 of December 2011

Electronic and Postal Communications (Licensing) Regulations, G.N No. 430 of December 2011

Electronic and Postal Communications (Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System) Regulations G.N. No. 208 June 2013

Exxon Corporation v Exxon Insurance [1982] RPC 69

NEC Corp. v. Intel Corp. (1989) 10 U.S.P.Q.2d 1177

Pastel Software (Pty) Ltd v Pink Software (Pty) (1991) Ltd 409

Torkington v Magee [1902] 2 KB

University of London Press v University Tutorial Press [1916] 2 Ch 601

BACKGROUND AND THEORETICAL INFORMATION

This research will deal with the role of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act[1](CANRA) in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

It arises from the need of protecting the economic rights of owners of original literary works from online piracy and other related online illegal activities and a desire to consider whether CANRA recognizes and guarantees the protection of economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

It is important in this research to define what is literary works and the digital environment. According to Black’s law dictionary[2] literary works mean “a non-audiovisual work that is expressed by verbal, numerical, or other symbols such as words or musical notation and embodied in some physical object.[3]”

In University of London Press Limited v University Tutorial Press Limited[4] Peterson J at p. 608 stated that “literary work cover work which is expressed in print or writing, irrespective of the question whether the quality or style is high.

The word “literary” seems to be used in a sense somewhat similar to the use of the word “literature” in political or electioneering literature and refers to written or printed matter. That does not say that anything written or printed is a literary work.” In Exxon Corporation v Exxon Insurance[5], it was held that a literary work is one that conveys information or instruction. Also in the case of Pastel Software (Pty) Ltd V Pink Software (Pty) 1991 Ltd 409 literary work was defined as any combination of letters and/or numerals that embody the results of a measure of intellectual effort or skill.

A digital environment is a simulated place made through the use of one or more computers, records or evidence of an individual’s interaction with a digital environment constitute their digital footprint[6].

Also, it is worthwhile to know the economic rights which are entitled to the owners of original literary works.

Economic rights are pecuniary benefits the owner of original literary work gets from his work. The owner has to derive fair and sufficient financial reward from the use of his work. Economic rights are exclusive rights of the author to authorize reproduction of the work, distribution of the work, rental of the work, public exhibition of the work, translation of the work, an adaptation of the work, public performance of the work, broadcasting of the work, and importation of copies of the work.[7]These rights can be transferred to another person by the author.[8]

With digitalization and the internet, literary works are highly affected by digital copyright violations for example through file-swapping, copying and pasting, file sharing, uploading and downloading, and other related online illegal activities, these activities keep the economic rights of owners of literary works at risk.

In response to that, CANRA under Section 44 legitimizes the application of technical means of protection and rights management information so as to allow owners of original literary works to protect their economic rights from digital copyright violations. According to this section, specifically under subsection 1 (c) read together with subsection 2, it is unlawful and it shall be assimilated to infringements of CANRA to remove or alter any electronic rights management information without authority.

This is necessary because in absence of technical measures, implementation of CANRA prohibitions is hard to archive on the global internet.[9]

Despite that response, CANRA does not have clear and specific provisions for the protection of exclusive rights of owners of literary works from digital copyright violations compared to traditional or analogy infringement where it provides for offenses and remedies for infringement.

Traditionally once original literary work is entitled to copyright protection, the author shall have the exclusive right to carry out or to authorize; reproduction of the work, distribution of the work, public exhibition of the work, translation of the work, an adaptation of the work, other communication to the public of the work and importation of copies of the work[10].

Therefore traditionally a person is termed to infringe copyright when direct or aid to conduct any of the acts above activities without authorization of the author. Any person who knowingly violates, or causes to be violated, the rights protected, commits an offense [11].

Also, it provides that any person whose rights under the Act are in imminent danger of being infringed or have been Infringed, may institute proceedings in the United Republic of Tanzania for an injunction to prevent the infringement or to prohibit the continuation of the infringement.[12]

Digitalization emerge to have upset the traditional means of copyright protection, as it leads to the new forms of copyright infringements as it supports the conversion of literary works which are hardcopy to softcopy, its allows illegal copying of original literary works without affecting their quality and makes the illegal copies to be distributed over networks.

Therefore there is a need for the CANRA to be adequate in protecting economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

Noteworthy that the protection of the property is a constitutional right. As it has been stated in The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1977[13](CURT) that

Every person is entitled to own property and has a right to the protection of his property held in accordance with the law and it shall be unlawful for any person to be deprived of his property for the purposes of nationalization or any other purposes without the authority of the law which makes provision for fair and adequate compensation[14].

This study will examine the adequacy of CANRA in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment. It inspects the extent to which CANRA recognizes and guarantees protection of economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

Copyright is a property right that subsists (exists) in the various works, for example, literary works, artistic works, musical works, sound recordings, films, and broadcasts.[15]

In relation to literary work, in the case of NEC Corp. v. Intel Corp[16], it was stated that “for a particular literary work to be copyrightable, two requirements must be satisfied: the work must be “fixed in any tangible medium of expression,” and it must be “original”. In Tanzania, copyright protection began as soon as the existence of colonialists. It can be traced to the British era. The British copyright law is often seen as a gift that was bequeathed to colonial countries.

The Copyright Ordinance[17] was introduced as an extension of the United Kingdom (imperial) Copyright Act 1911. It was applied in colonial territories and was the model for most of the early copyright legislation in Commonwealth countries[18].

After the independence of Tanganyika, the Copyright Ordinance of 1924 was replaced by the Copyright Act No. 61 of 1966[19]which improved on copyright matters. The 1966 Act provides the automatic protection of copyright materials. Cinematographic, musical, and artistic works qualified for protection.

However Act No. 61 of 1966 had challenges that, it lacks provisions on criminal offenses and their sanctions, the term of copyright protection was short.[20]

Development of technology, absence of the copyright organization for the protection and management of copyright, an increase of copyright infringement activities, most often, involves a claim of improper copying or creation of a new work based upon the original, made Act No. 61 of 1966  not effective.

As the result, in 1999 CANRA was promulgated to repeal Act No. 61 of 1966. This Act was enacted to make better provisions for copyright and neighboring rights in literary, artistic works, folklore and for related matters.[21]

To protect the moral and economic interests of authors (creator) relating to their works, to provide protection for the expression of folklore, to protect the interests of performing artists, producers of cassettes and broadcasting organizations, to provide for civil remedies and criminal sanctions against infringers and pirates[22].

It introduced new provisions included, such as enhanced provision on criminal offenses and sanctions[23], protection for the expression of folklore[24], computer programs[25], phonograms and related rights[26]and composition of Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA)[27]  which were not included in Act No. 61 of 1966.

In addition to the traditional acts of infringement, the Act has also expanded the spectrum of infringing practices by faulting those who import or own contrivances, which may be used to facilitate copyright infringement[28].

In relation to digital infringement, CANRA legitimized the use of technical means of protection and rights of management information so as to enable the owners of literary works to safeguard their economic rights from digital copyright violations[29]. CANRA managed to adhere to the rules and principles of some conventions such as the Berne convention[30] and the TRIPS Agreement of the World Trade Organization[31]for example protection of computer programs and software.[32]

In the 2000s several regulations were made to ensure effective implementation of CANRA, it includes; The Copyright (Licensing of Public Performances and Broadcasting) Regulations[33] which deals with licensing of public performance and broadcasting of copyrighted works, as provided under Regulation 3 “that no person shall hold public performances or broadcasting a copyrighted work except under the license from the society”

The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Registration of Members and Their Works) Regulations[34], which deals with the registration of artistic work and membership of COSOTA, as provided under Regulation 3 that “author or another owner of the copyright may apply for membership of COSOTA.

The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Production and Distribution of Sound and Audiovisual Recordings) Regulations[35], which deals with the protection of sound recordings or audio-visual recordings, as provided under Regulation 2 that “A person shall not produce, distribute or import for distribution sound recordings or audio-visual recordings in Tanzania except under a license issued by the Copyright Society of Tanzania under these Regulations are referred to as the “Society”.

Nevertheless, contemporarily, there is no regulation that is made to ensure effective implementation of CANRA towards the protection of literary works in a digital environment.

Since the year of 1990s when Privatization and investment took the role, it gave away for the development of Information Technology as things like computers were highly engaged.

These technologies are both promising and potentially harmful to various parties interested in the use and the exploitation of works of authorship[36]and thus, enhance copyright infringement through the digital environment.

Activities such as caching, scanning, file-swapping, browsing, copying and pasting, downloading, and uploading of literary works, cause violation of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, such as the right to make copies[37].

To control infringement of copyright in the digital environment, international organizations, directives, and several nations began to introduce in their binding legislation regulations aimed to increase protection of works and rights of their authors’ organizations in a digital environment.

An example of an international organization, treaties are WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT). The provisions of the WCT relating to digital technology covers storage of works in digital form in an electronic medium, transmission on digital networks, limitations, and exceptions in the digital environment, and technological measures of protection and rights management information, Berne Convention the impact of digital technology on copyrighted works has been considered through Article 20.[38]

Also Directive on Electronic Commerce[39], Directive on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights[40] and Directive on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspect of Copyright and Related Rights in Information Society[41], was made in European Union so as to ensure proper regulation and enforcement of IPRs in the digital era.

United States of America (USA) enacted Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 1998 (DCMA) Title I of the DMCA contains, among other things, provisions to implement obligations concerning technological measures and rights management information and United Kingdom (UK) enacted The Copyright Designs and Patents Act, this law prohibits copying in relation to Literary (which include software), dramatic, musical, and artistic work, including reproducing the work in any material form which includes storage in any medium by electronic means[42]

To control digital copyright infringements in Tanzania, CANRA allows the application of technical means of protection and rights management information so as to enable owners of original literary works to protect their economic rights from digital copyright violations. It is unlawful and it shall be assimilated to infringements of CANRA to remove or alter any electronic rights management the information which was set by the owners of literary works towards the protection of their economic rights without authority[43].

Despite that response, CANRA does not have clear and specific provisions for control of online piracy and other related online illegal activities compared to international instruments and copyright laws of other jurisdictions like the USA and UK which respond to the digital copyright via lotions by including clear and specific provisions for control digital copyright violations.

Absence of clear and specific provisions for control of online piracy and other related online illegal activities in CANRA may renders the enforcement of the Act in a digital environment very difficult.

Authors of original literary works shall be entitled to copyright protection for their works by the sole fact of the creation of such works [44]. In the case of the University of London Press v University Tutorial Press[45] it was stated that “The word “original” does not in this connection mean that the work must be the expression of original or inventive thought.

Copyright Acts are not concerned with the originality of ideas, but with the expression of thought, and, in the case of “literary work,” with the expression of thought in print or writing.

Due to the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) particularly digitalization, computerization and the internet, there have been various means on how original literary works can be copied or reproduced without affecting its quality, disseminated and obtained without authorization, for example through uploading or downloading literary works from the internet.

It becomes difficult for the owners of literary works to control dissemination or distribution of their works through the internet without law to provide for effective measures to protect their economic rights.

Digitalization, computerization and the internet facilitates rampant infringement of the economic rights of the owners of literary works which are conducted both offline and online environment. Mostly in offline environment infringement is done through copying, burning, scanning, distribution of literary works through flash disk and memory cards and any other similar means.

In a few instances infringement is also conducted through an online environment, it is done through file-swapping (peer-peer file sharing) whereby people can share literary works without permission from the owner.

In Tanzania the most applicable file swapping websites are; 4shared, Telegram, Mega upload, Media fire, Files tube, Rapid share and The Pirate Bay, also infringement via digital environment is conducted through, downloading, uploading, copying and pasting, and scanning of literary works.

Consequently, CANRA under Section 44 provides for the application of technical means of protection and rights management information so as to enable owners of original literary works to protect their economics rights from digital copyright violations, however, this section is not accommodated enough to ensure more effective protection and enforcement of CANRA in relation to the digital copyright infringement.

Therefore there is a need for the CANRA to be adequate in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works in digital environment.

This study will examine the extent to which CANRA recognizes and guarantees the protection of economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment. The study further provides recommendations regarding the effective enforcement of CANRA in a digital environment.

This research will base on the following hypotheses:

• The emergence of the digital environment and lack of digital copyright law facilitate rampant infringement of economic rights of owners of literary works
• CANRA is ineffective in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this research is to explore the legal challenges in the protection of the economic rights of owners of original literary works in a digital environment.

• To examine the extent to which CANRA protects the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment
• To explore the effectiveness of CANRA in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.
• The study will be useful to the law-making bodies to restructure the copyright legislation to meet the contemporary situation of science and technology.
• This study will make the general public awareness of copyright issues.
• The study will as well serve as reference material for further studies on the same area.
• Furthermore, the study will enable a researcher to qualify for an award of bachelor’s degree of laws (LL.B) of AAA University 2022.

The issue of infringement of intellectual property rights via the digital environment has been discussed by various persons both from Tanzania and outside of Tanzania.

The researcher reviewed the existing literature in order to know how other writers have dealt with the problem at hand and to discover the existing gaps which are left by them so as this research to deal with those gaps. Also, the existing literature gave the researcher a direction as to where to go after getting the starting point.

Fujita A.K. (1996) [46] in her article provides that, the new technology of digitization in our present Information Age has upset the delicate balance created and maintained by copyright law between the rights of authors, users, and the industries that collect the money. There is no doubt that the technology of digitization will have a profound effect on copyright law.

She further states that digitization allows copying to be done quickly, cheaply, and easily, with no loss in quality, and then distributed to potentially millions of people in a few seconds.

Because of the new Information Superhighway, it can be done in the comfort of one’s own home with just a personal computer and a modem. Copyright holders have always been worried about new copying technology.

Photocopy machines, cassette recorders, and video recorders have all been thought to be a threat to copyright. Digitization allows a user to easily remove an author’s name from a work, substituting his own name, another’s, or none at all.

It allows a user to alter text, insert words, delete paragraphs, etc. Digitization allows a user to easily remove an author’s name from a work, substituting his own name, another’s, or none at all. It allows a user to alter text, insert words, delete paragraphs, etc.

She proposed that we must now determine how to write the laws to create the appropriate balance of author, user, and publishing rights. A major criticism of laws regulating private behavior in a digitized environment centers on enforcement. It is believed that the laws cannot be enforced without strict monitoring that would violate the privacy rights of users.

This literature discloses various problems which have been brought by digitalization, also it proposes that the resort should be made to the law, although it pinpoints that a law cannot be enforced without strict monitoring that would violate the privacy rights of users.

However, in his literature, the author did not cover the protection of economic rights of literary works in a digital environment. The researcher intends to use this literature to show the importance of the copyright law to be strict in monitoring that would violate the economic rights of owners of literary works.

Szczepańska, B. (2004) [47] in his paper stated that the copyright issue has gained additional significance in the context of the information society, the development of which we can witness where access to broadly understood media and means of public and direct communication plays a key role.

Using digital technology to record, make available, store, archive, and transfer works triggered the change in methods and scope of their exploitation. Apart from obvious and undisputable positive consequences of those changes, there are risks related to the infringement of copyright and neighboring rights on an unprecedented scale by using the protected property without the consent of authorized entities or by “manipulating” the content of the works distributed in digital format.

This literature tries to show that, piracy for many years has been a serious problem especially in the traditional way in which literary works and other copyrighted works are distributed in digital format.

That with the advent of digitization the situation is worse. However, in his literature, the author says nothing about the protection of literary works in a digital environment.

The researcher will use it to show the importance of legal framework on protecting the economic rights of literary works in the digital environment and keep in pace with the development of new technology such as the internet and computer networks.

Mahingira, E. (2007) [48] in his paper states that, there is infringement and piracy of protected works. He points out the importance of IP in building a socio-economic positive growth of Tanzania by formalizing IP activities, having an IP Policy, and building up of the IP institution by the stakeholders of IP.

The author speaks generally about importance of IP activities and the importance of having an IP policy and institution dealing with IP without specifically concentrates on the protection of economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment. The researcher intends to use this paper since it supports the establishment of a system of protection which in turn will control copyright infringement in a digital environment.

Burgunder, M. (2007) [49] in his book states that, even if intellectual property protection is established by law overseas, it may be useless if the enforcement mechanisms are insufficient. It is one thing to state that something is wrong; it is quite another thing to do something about it.

This literature is useful in this research since it insists on the importance of sufficient enforcement of intellectual property protection. However, this literature does not specifically provide for enforcement of copyright law in protecting the economic rights of literary works in the digital environment, which will be covered in this research.

The researcher will use this literature to provide for an efficient copyright enforcement mechanism that will ensure the protection of the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

Wangwe, S. (2009) [50] in his report notes that by 1966 the lack of effective intellectual property protection in Tanzania warranted significant improvement needing the adaptation and enlargement of legal, administrative and enforcement framework as well as human capacity.

He further observes that, although the legal framework and the necessary institutional framework for IP administration been established, the need for other IP implementing agents such as the police department, the customs office, and the judiciary needs adequate preparation in order to be able to curb the infringement of intellectual property rights.

Finally the author suggests   that extensive training is required to cause awareness of Intellectual field in general and put it into practice.

In his report, points out some administrative concerns and concentrates on the lack of effective IP protection in Tanzania.

He suggests for the importance of improving, adapting, and enlarging the legal administrative and enforcement as well as human capacity machinery for enforcement intellectual property protection in Tanzania. However, the author did not specifically discuss the issues facing copyright protection in the digital environment in Tanzania, particularly in literary works.

Therefore this research will use this literature to cover how legal and institutional frameworks will be outfitted so as to protect the economic rights of owners of literary works in a digital environment.

Mambi, A.J. (2010) [51] in his book points out that, the growth of the internet has had major implications for the treatment and protection of copyright materials and other related intellectual property rights that are published electronically.

He notes that one can clearly observe the difficulty faced by the intellectual property laws in Tanzania and other countries specifically copyright law-keeping in pace with changes in technology.

In his book specifically addresses the issue of difficulties on copyright protection on technological development which is the realm of this study, but he does not cover literary works. The research will use this literature to show the importance of copyright law to keep pace with the development of new technology such as digitalization and the internet.

Hargreave, I. (2011) [52] in his report states that IP law must adapt to change, digital communications technology involves routine copying of text, images, and data, meaning that copyright law has started to act as a regulatory barrier to the creation of certain kinds of new, internet-based businesses.

He also argues that the copyright regime cannot be considered fit for the digital age when millions of citizens are in daily breach of copyright, simply for shifting a piece of music or video from one device to another. People are confused about what is allowed and what is not, with the risk that the law falls into disrepute

He also pinpoints the reasons for supporting effective enforcement of IP rights by saying that a theme that connects all areas of IP is enforcement. IP rights cannot succeed in their core economic function of incentivizing innovation if rights are disregarded or are too expensive to enforce.

Ineffective rights regimes are worse than no rights at all: they appear to offer certainty and support for reliable business models, but in practice send misleading signals. Widespread disregard for the law erodes the certainty that underpins consumer and investor confidence. In the most serious cases, it destroys the social solidarity which enables the law abiding majority to unite against a criminal minority. These are powerful reasons for supporting effective enforcement of IP rights.

This report reveals that IP law must change to adapt digital environment situations and also insists on effective enforcement of IP rights.

However, it does not provide on how the law particularly copyright legislations, can be sufficient to protect owners of literary works in digital environment. The researcher intends to use this literature since it supports effective enforcement of IP rights and it shade the light on the need of changing the law so as to control the challenges brought by the development of science and technology.

Denton, A. (2011) [53] highlights that digital copyright infringement is ubiquitous. There are a number of technical approaches used by pirates to copy and share content. These techniques are increasingly sophisticated and have increasing scale and scope.

Industry is making efforts to work cooperatively to mitigate the risks and to help to enforce copyright. These efforts alone have clearly not managed to limit copyright abuse and there is an on-going debate on the role of different players in the ecosystem in enforcement.

This paper reveals how digital copyright infringement terrorizes copyright protection, it notes a number of technical approaches used by pirates to copy and share content and it tells that effort has been made to mitigate the risks.

However the literature does not cover on the issue of protecting owners of literary works in digital environment. The researcher intends to use this literature since it shows how the digital environment rampant copyright infringement and informs that effort has to be made so as to mitigate the risks.

Nyariki, D. et al. (2012) [54]  in their report notes that, another impediment to the development of creative industries is piracy, which is normally considered a serious challenge in developing countries. Piracy is because of the absence of adequate IP protection.

They argue that to strengthen and streamline the activities of the copyright industry, relevant policies should be put in place and existing policies should be reinforced to make them more effective in improving the operational efficiency of the industries. This will, in turn, encourage the development of the industries, by creating enabling environment for the government to harness the benefit that they provide, which will subsequently lead to greater recognition of their value in the creation of wealth.

This report is very important not only to this research but also to the government of Tanzania as it has pointed out various contributions of copyright-based industries to the economic growth.

It emphasizes that, the absence of adequate IP protection and proper policy would lead to the existence of unauthorized illegal works. However the issue of protection of copyright in digital environment, particularly economic rights of literary works is not covered. Therefore the research intends to use this study to cover that area, as it entails adequate IP protection and policy building.

Mwakaje, S. (2012) [55]in his report states that Tanzania does not have the national Intellectual Property Policy. The IP policy statements can be traced from national policies on industrial development, science, and technology, commerce, health, arts, and culture.

As the result, intellectual property policy statements are sometimes overlapping, contradictory and confusing. An obvious challenges is to coordinate these expertise and institutional organizations and agencies in enforcement of IP policy.

This literature reveals that, Tanzania does not have IP policy and the palpable challenge is how to coordinate expertise and institutional organizations and agencies in enforcing IP policy.

However the author does not cover how IP policy will be useful in the protection of owners of literary works in a digital environment. The researcher intends to use this report since it highlights the importance of having IP policy in protecting intellectual property rights.

Magalla, A. (2013) [56] in his research paper provides that the only problem here is the legal framework (Legislation). If the government would set new, efficient and sufficient principles, laws and regulations on the matter relating to information technology, then there would be no irregularities within it, and then the whole aspect intellectual property would be protected and promoted by the development of information technology.

The Act still it does not curter or gives legal framework governing the matters of information technology in Tanzania especially in intellectual property. He also says that, it is the duty of the government of the United Republic of Tanzania to ensure that its laws cope with the development of science and technology, and fully participates in intellectual property-specific legislation

He further claims that Tanzania is one among the country which is highly affected by copyright infringement through the internet.

There is no doubt that the CANRA does not have clear and specific provisions for management and control of online piracy and other related illegal activities, even though is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and also ratified several multilateral instruments include World Intellectual Property Organization Conventions, 1967 (effective for Tanzania as of 30 December 1983); and Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Annex 1C of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), 1994 which have a bearing to the protection of intellectual property not to exclude computer programs or software.

He blames that the government has to know that, few Tanzanians are awakening now over the concept of intellectual property in the digital age and requires change for that. It is not enough to transform the society technology from analog to digital while the laws and the society are still in analog form.

He proposes that, at this moment Tanzania is in a good position to prevent or reduce any copyright infringements. We have good examples from various countries with such a piece of legislation.

Then what is the problem? Does that means the government encourages the infringements rather than preventing it? Are the efforts employed to prevent it sufficient enough? It is time for a change because the future is in our hands; CANRA must develop to meets the requirements of the development of science and technology, thing like online piracy through downloading and other electronic activities that may affect the literary and artistic works.

The author in his paper touch some issues which are most helpful to this research, he showed the weaknesses in the legal framework and insisted that the law must develop to cope with the development of science and technology which affect literary and artistic works, also he proposed that Tanzania has to take examples from other countries with legislation that respond to the development of science and technology.

However, the author did speak generally on the weakness of the law to protect intellectual property rights in the digital environment without specifically touch on the protection of economic rights of owners of literary works, which will be dealt with thoroughly in this research.

Ubena, J. (2015) [57] in his dissertation argues inter Alia that transformation from analog to a digital representation of data or information contributed to delivery of data and text in many different networks and it supported mass digitalization of copyrighted literary and artistic works.

Moreover, the internet and the emergency of the peer to peer (P2P) file sharing facilitated illegal copying, streaming, uploading, downloading, or generally sharing of copyrighted works. This raises a question of whether the traditional copyright law means for example banning or legal restriction of peer-to-peer file sharing is an effective way of regulating ICT innovation and uses.

He further contends that the legislature reacted by enacting the law that criminalizes or bans peer to peer file sharing applications/technology that facilitates unauthorized sharing of copyrighted content. In addition, the law legitimizes the application of the Technical Measures of protection[58]example Digital Rights Management (DRM).

He argued that, despite the copyright balance achieved by the traditional statutory copyright safeguards, the translation of analog content into digital and general generally digitalization of literary and artistic work appears to have disturbed that copyright balance.

The author in his dissertation reveals some substances which are very supportive to this research; he showed the impact of digitalization and computerization in literary works and artistic work and how the law responded to that situation. However, author did not discuss the need for the copyright law to be more clear and specific so as to control digital copyright infringement which will be covered in this study.

Generally the researcher agrees that, the authors of the reviewed literatures states about the problems brought by the digital environment on intellectual property, the insufficient enforcement of the existing law to control those problems.

The authors also tried to propose some various measures to be taken by the government to curb the infringement of copyright through the digital environment. After a very critical analysis of the literatures, the researcher has discovered that, the issue concerning the role of CANRA in protecting the economic rights of owners of literary works has not been covered; it appears that the above literature speaks about copyrighted works generally without particularly touching literary works which will be the gist of this study.

Research Design and Methodology

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. In it, we study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.[59]

This research will consist of information collected from library research as well as a field study. The research will be conducted by using various methods and approaches as elaborated in this part.

This research will employ a Case Study Design, because it is a fairly exhaustive method, thus it enabled the researcher to focus his study deeply and thoroughly on different aspects of a research phenomenon.

This design will enable a researcher to board on different relevant methods of collecting data from specific area like COSOTA in order to collect relevant data in relation to the material condition of the problem itself.

The researcher will employ both primary and secondary methods in collecting data to enhance the in-depth analysis of the phenomena under the study so as to give more accurate results.

Library research will be done so as to get relevant information concerning the topic, in order to build up more understanding to the problem, to get the theoretical information relating to the problem, also to know what has been addressed by other researchers so that should not repeat the same thing.

It will involve the collection of secondary data from books, research papers, newspapers, reports, brochures, articles, dissertations, journals, statutes, and electronic sources. This will be conducted in libraries specifically AAA University and ‘Home’ Regional library because all documents that will be reviewed are easily accessible from these libraries.

This study will involve the collection of primary data relating to the problem. Field research will allow the direct interaction between a researcher and respondents, thus it will enable the researcher to collect information which is current and most relevant to the problem under the investigation, so as to prove or disapprove the existence of the problem regarding the hypotheses formulated.

This study will be conducted in two geographical areas namely; ‘Home’ and ‘Away’. Because, in Home the researcher will be able to get the respondents including magistrates, advocates, police officers and state attorneys who have knowledge on the problem at hand. This will enable the researcher to get relevant and useful information concerning the problem.

In ‘Away’ the researcher was able to get respondents who are not available at ‘Home’ especially owners of literary works who are the victims of the digital copyright violations and COSOTA which is the institution deals with implementation of the copyright rights law in Tanzania.

For the purpose of this study, the researcher will collect data from; owners of literary works, because they are victims of infringement via the online environment, COSOTA because it established to implement the copyright rights law in Tanzania, the researcher specifically preferred Chief Executive Officer and Copyright Administrator, Head of Information and Communication Technology and head of legal unity in order to grasp the implementation of the copyright law in the digital environment, also researcher preferred magistrates, advocates, state attorneys  and law enforcers including police officers in order to grasp how CANRA has been interpreted and enforced when it’s come to the matters of digital infringement.

The study will target thirty-five (35) respondents to give opportunity and ensure good coverage of information. The sample was selected based on the population size, time, and financial factors. That is, Three (3) officers of COSOTA including Chief Executive Officer and Copyright Administrator, Head of Information and Communication Technology and Head of Legal Unity, seven (7) owners of literary works, six (6) magistrates, eleven (11) advocates, five (5) state attorneys and three (3) police officers.

The researcher will use the purposive sampling technique. This technique will enable a researcher to focus on a particular sample based on special knowledge of the research problem, which will be best to enable the researcher to prove or disapprove research hypotheses. This will be done by rejecting people who would be most likely not to contribute appropriate data, both in terms of relevance and depth.

Methods of Data Collection

Regarding to the nature of the problem, data will be collected through two methods, namely interview and questionnaire. The researcher preferred these methods because they are fair exhaustive means to acquire first-hand information concerning the problem so as to enhance profound investigation of the phenomena under the study. However, interviews will be the dominant method in terms of data collection.

An interview is basically an interaction, where questions are posed or a discussion takes place between two or more people with a specific purpose in mind.[60] This method is ultimate for providing first-hand information to the researcher. The interview was focused on; owners of literary works, magistrates, law enforcers including police officers, advocates and state attorneys who were available and willing to help the researcher to get direct and easily accessed information instantly. This method will involve direct contact with the respondents. The interview will be unstructured so as to allow flexibility of respondents and convenience of the researcher in accessing data.

The researcher will also use a questionnaire in collecting primary data because the tool is good where new facts are to be found, but also it gives respondents’ liberty to use their own knowledge and reasoning.

The questionnaire will be suitable for respondents who are literate, for providing in-depth information on the matter. This method will focus on the respondents who are officers but they are unable to provide information instantly because their very busy or when it might be difficult for researchers to face them due to the nature of their offices especially officers from COSOTA. The researcher will use an open mixed questionnaire where the question set was neither closed nor open.

In this study, data will be presented in a descriptive way, because, this study mainly contains qualitative data, that is, data that deals with descriptions of information. Data will be analyzed by sampling and comparison.

Analysis shows how many people in terms of percentage approve or disapprove of the existence of a problem in the light of formulated hypotheses. To clarify the respondents’ answers the analysis demonstrates the most useful statements made by respondents in response to the hypotheses. Also, the researcher notes down the number of people who have the same views and those with differing ones.

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[1] [CAP 218 R.E 2002]

[2] Garner, B.A (Ed) (2004) Black’s Law Dictionary  8th ed. West: West Publishing Co. p. 1637

[3]According to Section 5 (2) (a-b) of  CANRA literary works shall include books, pamphlets and other writings, including computer programs, lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature

[4] [1916] 2 Ch 601

[5] [1982] RPC 69

[6]John S. B. and Paul D. (2000) The Social Life of Information,  Boston: Harvard Business School press, at p.13

[7] Section 9 (1) (a)-(j) of CANRA

[8] Section 16 (1)

[9] John, U. (2015) How To Regulate Information And Communications Technology? A Jurisprudential Inquiry Into Legislative And Regulatory Techniques, Stockholm: Jure p.187

[10] CANRA section 9 (1)

[11] Ibid section 42

[12] Ibid section 36.-(l) (a)

[13] [Cap. 2 R.E 2002]

[14] Article 24 (1) and (2)

[15] David I. Bainbridge (2009). Intellectual Property, 7th  Edition, Pearson Longman, Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Pp.5 and 31

[16](1989) 10 U.S.P.Q.2d 1177

[17] Cap 218 of 1st August, 1924

[18] Julien H. (2009). Introducing Copyright: A Plain Language Guide to Copyright in the 21st Century, Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning, p.5.

[19] Came into operation on 1st October 1967

[20] Section 4 (2) (i)-(iv) (3).

[21]  Under Section 5(1) it provides for the exclusive right to authors of original literary and artistic works

[22] Ibid Section 2

[23]Ibid  section 42

[24] Ibid section 24

[25]Ibid  Section 5

[26] Part IV

[27] First Schedule para 1

[28] Part. VI  section 44and 45

[29] Section 44

[30]The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 9 September 1886 as last revised at Paris on 24 July 1971 and amended in 1979. Available at www.wipo.org .  Retrieved on 6th September 2014.

[31]Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, April 15 1994.

[32] Under Sections 4 and 5 (2) (a) CANRA

[33] GN No. 328  of  October 2003

[34] GN No. 6 of  January 2006

[35] 2006 G.N No.18 of February  2006

[36]George C. and Marybeth P. (2006).The Challenge of Copyright in Digital Age: U. S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs Focus on Intellectual Properties Rights, P. 50

[37] Vakul S. (2011). Information Technology-Law and Practice, 3rd ed. New Delhi: Universal Law  Publishing Co.Pvt. Ltd., P.466.

[38] Berne Convention for the Protection Of Literary And Artistic Works, 1886

[39] Directive 2000/31/EC

[40]Directive 2004/48/EC

[41]Directive 2001/29/EC

[42]Under section 17 (2) and (6)

[43] Section 44 (1) c and  (2)

[44] Section 5(1) of CANRA

[45] [1916] 2 Ch 601

[46] The Great Internet Panic: How Digitization is Deforming Copyright Law, Journal of Technology Law and Policy, Vol. 12, retrieved from http://jtlp.org/vol2/fujita.html on 19th June 2015

[47]“Digital is not different” – copyright in the digital environment, retrieved from here  on 5th July 2014

[48]Building Intellectual Property Institution In Tanzania: Paper presented at The Intellectual Property High-Level Meeting Kilimanjaro – Kempinski

[49] Legal Aspects of Managing Technology,4th  ed. Thomson/West Eagan, MN: the United States of America at p 27

[50] Case Study Report on Institutional Capacity in Intellectual Property Policy, Administration and Enforcement; Economic and Social Research Foundation: Dar es Salaam

[51] A Source Book for Information and Communication Technologies and Cyber Law in Tanzania and East Africa Community, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers: Dar es salaam at p.198

[52]Digital Opportunity; A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, retrieved from here  on 28th May  2014

[53]Intellectual property rights in today’s digital economy, Discussion paper, retrieved from here  on May 28th, 2014

[54] The Economic contribution of Copyright Based Industries in Tanzania,  Report for World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) retrieved from http://193.5.93.81/edocs/pubdocs/en/copyright/1041/wipo_pub_1041.pdf   on 01 March 2015

[55]“National Study on Intellectual Property and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Tanzania  The work has been commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the WIPO Development Agenda Project

[56]  The Impacts of ICT Evolution on Copyrights Protection in Tanzania, Research report; Tumaini University: Iringa  retrieved from here on 2nd July 2014

[57] How To Regulate Information And Communications Technology? A Jurisprudential Inquiry Into Legislative And Regulatory Techniques, Stockholm: Jure

[58] Section 44 of CANRA

[59]Kothari, C.R, (2004) Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd Revised ed. New Age, p.9

[60] Majamba H. I. (2009) Fundamental of Legal Research: A Law Student’s Companion, Draft for Students at Law School

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