ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the implications of the research, beginning first with suggestions as to how the findings could inform policy. Hammersley's arguments problematise the relationship between research and policy. What also needs to be acknowledged is that social research, particularly criminological research, is a deeply politicised process. Qualitative researchers often make a double contribution when they conduct their research. They contribute towards methodological debates as well as contributing to our understanding of the subject matter they choose to study. Qualitative research is not without controversies and dilemmas, and indeed numerous questions are raised through the research process which requires reflection upon. Following in the footsteps of many academic texts, this one ends with a call for further research. The majority of contemporary criminologists interested in punishment have focused on the mysterious, perhaps exotic, world of imprisonment. This world, isolated from wider society, offers a source of endless fascination for criminologists.
