NCJ Number
190256
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 41 Issue: 3 Dated: Summer 2001 Pages: 472-484
Editor(s)
Geoffrey Pearson
Date Published
2001
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article examined the role of sympathy, from a prison research perspective, and if the acquisition of sympathy for those worlds studied undermine professional integrity.
Abstract
This article examined the question of bias and of taking sides in research, and what, if any effect sympathy had on the research work. It is possible to take more than one side seriously, to find merit in more than one perspective, and do this without causing outrage on the side of officials or prisoners, but it may come with a high emotional price to pay. This article also examined the distinction made, in principle, between theory-neutrality (‘what is’) and value-neutrality (‘what ought to be’). The relevance of this research is its possible cultural, political, and moral implications. To some extent ‘what is’ can be described without always making explicit 'what ought to be,' letting the data speak for itself. The suspension of value judgment through the research process might in the end be a more effective way to play a part in ‘what ought to be.’ These age-old arguments were revisited in a contemporary context in which the super-ordinates, as well as the subordinates feature in the author’s research. These questions had important implications for researchers and significant consequences for the researched. References