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Interviewing Elites, Experts and the Powerful in Criminology pp 9–27Cite as

Interviewing ‘the Powerful’ in Crime and Crime Control

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Abstract

The chapter enters conceptual discussions on the notions of ‘the powerful’, ‘elites’ and ‘experts’. It discusses what makes elite and expert interviewing specific and why researchers would be interested in conducting qualitative interviews with the powerful, particularly within the study area of criminology. Simultaneously, the chapter highlights how the book intends to overcome a lack of systematic methodological reflection on using interviews with the powerful, when asking them about sensitive issues. The chapter underscores the importance of fostering critical, reflexive and ethical attitudes throughout the entire research process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Olga Petintseva

  2. Faculty of Law, School of Criminology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Rita Faria

  3. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands

    Yarin Eski

Authors
  1. Olga Petintseva
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  2. Rita Faria
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  3. Yarin Eski
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Correspondence to Olga Petintseva .

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Petintseva, O., Faria, R., Eski, Y. (2020). Interviewing ‘the Powerful’ in Crime and Crime Control. In: Interviewing Elites, Experts and the Powerful in Criminology. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33000-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33000-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32999-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33000-2

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