Ethically Sensitive Research with ‘Children’ and ‘Adults’ in Custody
Ethics and Integrity in Research with Children and Young People
ISBN: 978-1-80043-401-1, eISBN: 978-1-80043-400-4
Publication date: 4 November 2021
Abstract
This chapter draws on data from young men1 interviewed on two occasions; first as ‘children’ aged 17 years within juvenile Young Offenders’ Institutions (YOIs); and then again as ‘adults’ aged 18 years within young adult/adult prisons about their experiences of transitions. Ethical reviews typically reflect age-determined constructions of child/adult status and those aged under 18 years are deemed to be more ‘vulnerable’, thus attracting more scrutiny from research ethics committees (Economic and Social Research Council [ESRC], 2020). This concern heightens the methodological difficulties of prison research, as incarceration renders children ‘doubly vulnerable’ (Jacobson & Talbot, 2017). Such institutions may be obstructive and access must be obtained from a series of gatekeepers. Negotiating the balance between participants’ rights and their best interests (Heptinstall, 2000; Thomas & O’Kane, 1998), along with gatekeepers’ priorities can be challenging. This chapter outlines how tricky ethical tensions were balanced with participants’ best interests in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (United Nations, 1989). Despite the difficulties encountered, the researcher (J.P.) took the view that there would be ‘ethical implication[s] of NOT conducting the research’ (Girling, 2017, p. 38). The chapter offers recommendations for how researchers might conduct ethically sensitive research with similar cohorts of young people.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the young people and stakeholders who shared their experiences and to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for their contribution to the research and facilitating access to their data. I am also grateful to Professor Barry Goldson who supervised my PhD and the peer reviewers for their helpful and constructive feedback on the chapter. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (ES/J50094/1) funded the research on which this chapter is based.
Declaration of Interests
The author has been employed as a research associate, and contributed to inspection work carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons.
Citation
Price, J. (2021), "Ethically Sensitive Research with ‘Children’ and ‘Adults’ in Custody", Spencer, G. (Ed.) Ethics and Integrity in Research with Children and Young People (Advances in Research Ethics and Integrity, Vol. 7), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2398-601820210000007009
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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