ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the problem of taking sides as it arises in the study of deviance. It refers more sociological disclaimer in which authors say, for instance, that they have studied the prison through the eyes of the inmates and not through the eyes of the guards or other involved parties. The parties to the hierarchical relationship engage in organized conflict, attempting either to maintain or change existing relations of power and authority. The inspection of representative instances would show that the accusation arises, in one important class of cases, when the research gives credence, in any serious way, to the perspective of the subordinate group in some hierarchical relationship. In the case of deviance, the hierarchical relationship is a moral one. Though deviance is a typical case, it is by no means the only one. The hierarchy of credibility operates in a different way in the political situation than it does in the apolitical one.
