Challenges for meaningful participation in prisoner or corrective services research

This chapter focuses on the barriers to conducting research in corrective services with incarcerated individuals and the challenges surrounding meaningful and safe participation. Barriers may include the complexity within the system, the vulnerability of prisoners, as well as researchers and their cultural norms, power imbalance, consent, expectations, and experiences of conducting research within and outside the correctional system. Based on these varying ‘human’ factors, the corrective services system as an institution and organ of the criminal justice system may present logistical hurdles, including restricted access and bureaucratic processes for undertaking research to ensure meaningful and safe participation. This chapter presents insight into learnings from research and implementation within the broad system of incarcerated individuals. Within this chapter, the authors explore these challenges through the lens of vulnerable individuals. Through reflection on these identities, the process of confidentiality, consent, ethical processes, power relationships, and scientific rigour is reviewed to add value to further research into an evolving field of study.