Research on the ‘Inside’: The Challenges of Conducting Research with Young Offenders

Abstract

There is a limited literature examining the ethical dilemmas that arise when research is conducted in prison settings, and the extent to which it is possible to give voice to young offenders’ experiences, thus placing them at the centre of the research process. By drawing on a qualitative research with young offenders, the paper will discuss how prison research can be truly ethical when it is conducted with participants who are far from autonomous. This raises a number of challenges for researchers that this paper will consider. These include accessing young offenders’ lives; ensuring the credibility of young offenders’ voices; and leaving the prison setting. The paper highlights the ethical research strategies that researchers can adopt in conducting research with young offenders, and the importance of researchers adopting a reflexive approach to better understand the social context of young offenders’ lives.