Conducting Research in a Collateral Institution: Lessons from the Field

Abstract

This paper highlights the methodological and ethical challenges that a researcher should be prepared for when interviewing inmates in a collateral institution. While the paper uses the findings of the research carried out among convicted male sexual offenders, the lessons learnt should be useful to researchers conducting studies on inmates in general. In emphasizing the important role played by research, the paper argues that researcher’s flexibility in the field and the way they respond and handle challenges faced along the way would, in essence, dictate their success or failure in acquiring relevant data to answer the research question(s). While bearing in mind that numerous challenges face researchers and may not have been exhaustively discussed here, this paper provides some critical insights into conducting prison research in Kenya.