ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I explore the use of deception to gain access to what otherwise might be closed institutions. While some researchers staunchly defend the practice as necessary to their goals and therefore as justified ethically and/or on pragmatic grounds, I suggest that such justifications are both self-interested and short-sighted. Drawing on examples I’ve observed over the course of my career, I argue that deceiving individuals, agencies, and institutions has larger negative effects on the research enterprise as a whole. Further, at least with respect to Canadian criminal justice research, researcher deception is one of several factors that has led to a largely moribund research space.
