ABSTRACT
This chapter on (in)visibility of emotions and ethical concerns in prison research is a result of four empirical prison research studies conducted from 2005–2014 in 22 different prisons in various states in India. The research participants included children of recidivists, women prisoners, families of prisoners, and prisoners on death row. This chapter attempts to present many layers of prison research including the application of ethical principles. It further addresses some of the methodological limitations in prison research as well as challenges one faces as a researcher, specifically from a woman researcher’s perspective in a male-dominated setting. The chapter culls out its “stories” and examples from the above 22 prisons in India and discusses the complex nature of criminological research leading to certain peculiarities in prison research. It elaborates on the value conflicts and emotions of such research studies and suggests some ways to better equip oneself for prison research studies, thereby contributing to the discourse on (in)visibility of the emotional functions and ethical concerns in prison research.
