Abstract
Qualitative researchers face unique challenges when conducting original data collection within facilities of confinement. These challenges are shaped by a range of factors including the studyâs research design, researcher identity, and organizational climate of the facility. Although the barriers of data collection in corrections are known, literature providing context, nuance, and recommendations for overcoming these obstacles is sparse, especially for qualitative fieldwork. This work addresses this gap by examining responses of correctional employees to observational research. During data collection, correctional staff called the primary author âsnitch,â âsnake,â âmole,â and âBooks.â This paper investigates these labels and offers suggestions on how future researchers can navigate their experiences.
Highlights
Conducting research in prison poses challenges such as navigating institutional restrictions, gaining access, juggling stakeholders with conflicting interests, building rapport with those detained and working in carceral facilities, and establishing relationships with the corrections community that will translate to data collection informed by experience rather than assumptions
This paper examines how the first author, a former correctional officer turned academic, navigated the challenges of being both an insider and an outsider while conducting observational research in a Mid-Atlantic Department of Correction
Seeking to answer the question, how does Insider/Outsider status impact correctional employee perceptions of researchers?, we report findings in four thematic sections that align with labels participants gave the observer during the data collection period: snitch, snake, mole, and “Books.” We use pseudonyms to protect participants
Summary
Conducting research in prison poses challenges such as navigating institutional restrictions, gaining access, juggling stakeholders with conflicting interests, building rapport with those detained and working in carceral facilities, and establishing relationships with the corrections community that will translate to data collection informed by experience rather than assumptions. Researchers who have experienced the carceral environment, whether via employment or incarceration, are uniquely positioned to overcome these obstacles. An increasing number of formerly and currently incarcerated people and correctional staff are taking roles in academia and conducting research, offering an insider perspective to improve scholarship and institutions (Tietjen, 2019; Ross et al, 2015; Jones et al, 2009). This article focuses on how researchers with these experiences offer a unique perspective; their distinctive status is worthy of study
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