Purpose and methodology of legal research in sports science

Legal research in sports science is called upon to define itself in relation to other social sciences and, in doing so, to explain the methods used to analyze the law. This approach is not self-evident for lawyers trained in the interpretation of the law and accustomed to considering that legal research lies in this work of interpretation. Some, influenced by other social sciences, consider that this work cannot claim to be a science because it does not distance itself from its subject matter. Only research on law that analyzes social behavior from a legal perspective is considered to be a legal approach. This opposition does not reflect the reality of legal research, which is based on a complementary combination of the work of interpreting the law and explaining social behavior on the basis of this work.