Doctrinal (black-letter) research is research into "the law as it is" — the doctrine found in statutes, precedents and authoritative commentary. Its questions: What is the rule? Where does it come from? How have the courts applied it? Is it consistent? What gap or conflict remains?
Its features (the exam's list):
1. Library-based — the materials are texts, not field data.
2. Analytical — the sources are dissected, compared and synthesised.
3. Normative in part — "what the law is" often shades into "what it ought to be" (the critique's bridge).
4. Non-empirical — no interviews, surveys or experiments (the non-doctrinal seminar of Semester 8 carries those).