Prison research: appreciative or critical inquiry?

Abstract

When undertaking fieldwork in conflictual environments, such as the prison, ‘taking sides’ is an inevitable part of the research process and this moral and political dilemma is often phrased in terms of ‘whose side are you on?’. Significantly there appears to be a tendency in some recent prison officer studies to sidestep this moral quandary and present value commitments as unproblematic.