Life Stories,  Criminal Justice and Caring Research

In the context of offenders who have learning difficulties, autism and/or social, emotional and mental health problems, their families and the professionals who work with them, I explore caring and ethical research processes via fieldnotes I wrote while carrying out life?story interviews. Life?story interviews and the recording of fieldnotes within qualitative criminological, education and sociological research have long been used to document and analyse communities, institutions and everyday life in both private and public spheres. They richly illuminate specific contexts, research relationships and emotional responses to data collection that interview transcripts alone overlook. It is in the process of recording and reflecting upon research relationships that we can see and understand �care?full� research. But caring and ethical research works in an interdependent and relational way. Therefore, both the participant and the researcher are at times vulnerable, and recognising this is critical in considering meaningful and healthy research practices. Acknowledging that particular types of data collection can be messy, chaotic and emotional is necessary for understanding caring research.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15510

Version

Accepted manuscript

Citation

Rogers C (2018) Life Stories, Criminal Justice and Caring Research. In: Noblit G (Ed) Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. New York: Oxford University Press.

Link to Version of Record

https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.326

Type

Encyclopaedia article