Ethical Issues in Conducting Prison-Based Ethnography

Introduction: This presentation illustrates some of the complexities involved in conducting ethnographic research in an involuntary setting. As part of the ethnographic process, the researcher must become acclimated to the norms and structure of the setting. However, this process can be difficult within an oppressive institution such as a jail.  As an observer, one must document the process without being able to intervene; even if the setting violates social work ethics. This paper describes the process of adapting to the norms of a jail setting as part of the ethnographic process. Our questions are: 1) what are the ethical dilemmas involved as social workers studying a jail setting? 2) how do the researchers’ impressions of the setting the setting influence the observations and analysis?

Methods: The authors spent seven months observing over 50 hours of life skills classes for adult male inmates in a  large urban jail.  The classes ran between 1-3 hours and were conducted by paid instructors in various units of the jail. In addition to recording (in writing) the content of the classes and the interactions between instructors, we recorded our own impressions of and responses to the setting. Analysis consisted of bracketing our field notes regarding our impressions of the facility and ethical considerations raised through our research process. We then coded these impressions to assess how they progressed over time and in relation to what we observed about the life skills courses.

Results: We first went through in “initiation’ phase where we were trying to make sense of the jail culture.  This began in a ½ day orientation for volunteers that laid out the expectations and rules of the jail. During this initiation phase, we took very detailed notes regarding setting itself, the building, the rules, and hierarchies (such as different color clothing to indicate privilege). We then moved more into a phase of anger about the conditions of the jail and treatment of inmates. At this point, this anger was often reflected in negative impressions of the life skills classes, as we questioned how the inmates could learn anything of value within this oppressive environment.  As we became more acclimated to the setting, our notes reflected a gradual comfort with the environment and were more positive overall. However, we could not fully separate what the inmates were learning in life skills classes from the setting itself, including the deteriorated phyiscal structure, the chaos of the routines, and the intensive hierarchy between guards and inmates.

Implications: Conducting ethnography in an involuntary setting can be uncomfortable and even distressing through a social work lens that values the dignity and worth of individuals. As we conducted jail based research, we had to adapt to the structure and rules of the institution and account for our own reactions to the setting in order to make our research meaningful.  This paper has implications for research in jails as well as other involuntary settings.