NCJ Number
176636
Editor(s)
J Ferrell,
M S Hamm
Date Published
1998
Length
325 pages
Annotation
Criminologists and sociologists examine the personal and professional tribulations of conducting field research with deviant and criminal subcultures and discuss methodological, theoretical, and political implications of field research in illegal, immoral, and dangerous situations.
Abstract
The book focuses on research with such diverse groups as skinheads, telephone sex workers, drug dealers, graffiti artists, and the homeless. The evolution of ethnography is traced, different research processes are described and compared, and the interplay of professional identity and field research roles is addressed. Accounts of field research illustrate legal, professional, and personal misadventures on the part of field researchers and incorporate "true confessions" about the dangers of field research. The complex relationship between field researchers and their subjects of study is explored by highlight the contributions of field researchers and the dynamics of research methods and settings. References and notes