Abstract
Ethnographic fieldwork in a site of human confinement over a prolonged period can be challenging and requires a cautious but determined approach. It necessitates being part of the daily lives and routines of two opposing worlds: staff and officers. This challenge is further exacerbated by the diverse roles ascribed to the researcher or those which the researcher assumes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Further reading
Ayete-Nyampong, L. (2014) ‘Entangled Governance Practices and the Illusion of Producing Compliant Inmates in Correctional Centres for Juvenile and Young Offenders in Ghana’, Prison Service Journal: Everyday Prison Governance in Arica, 214, 27–32.
Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography. Principles in Practice, Third edition (London: Routledge).
Hume, L. and Mulcock, J. (2004) ‘Introduction: Awkward Spaces, Productive Places’, in H. Lynne and J. Mulcock (eds) Anthropologists in the Field, Cases in Participant Observation (New York: Columbia University Press).
References
Abebe, T. and Kjorholt, A. T. (2009) ‘Social Actors and Victims of Exploitation: Working Children in the Cash Economy of Ethiopia South’, Childhood, 16, 2, 175–94.
Ayete-Nyampong, L. (2013) Entangled Realities and Underlife of a Total Institution, PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen.
Ayete-Nyampong, L. (2014) ‘Entangled Governance Practices and the Illusion of Producing Compliant Inmates in Correctional Centres for Juvenile and Young Offenders in Ghana’, Prison Service Journal, 214, 27–32.
Christiansen, C. (2006) Youth, Religiosity and the AIDS Pandemic. Faith Friends and Family Virtues in Uganda, Unpublished Paper presented at the Youth and the Global South Conference, Dakar.
Christiansen, C., Utas, M. and Vigh, H. E. (eds) (2006) Introduction: Navigating Youth, Generating Adulthood: Social Becoming in an African Context (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet).
Cupido, M., Kritzinger, A. and Van Aswegen, F. (2005) ‘The Implementation of a Diversion Programme for Juvenile Offenders: Problem Areas and “Pitfalls”’, Social Work, 41, 3, 251–64.
De Kock, D. (2005) ‘Youth in Conflict with the Law and Socio-Economic Experiences in Their Childhood: A Relationship’, Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 20, 56–71.
Emerson, R., Fretz, R. and Shaw, L. (1995) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press).
Gaum, G., Hoffman, S. and Venter, J. H. (2006) ‘Factors that Influence Adult Recidivism: An exploratory Study in Pollsmoor Prison’, South African Journal of Psychology, 36, 2, 407–24.
Goffman, E. (1968) Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates (Hammondsworth: Penguin).
Graham, A. (2008) ‘On Researching Children’s Experiences: Methodological and Ethical Issues Paper’, Unpublished presented at the Children and Young People as Social Actors’ Research Cluster Symposium.
Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography. Principles in Practice, Third edition (London: Routledge).
Honwana, A. and De Boeck, F. (2005) Makers and Breakers. Children and Youth in Postcolonial Africa (Dakar: Codesria).
Hume, L. and Mulcock, J. (2004) ‘Introduction: Awkward Spaces, Productive Places’, in H. Lynne and J. Mulcock (eds) Anthropologists in the Field, Cases in Participant Observation (New York: Columbia University Press).
Igbinovia, P. E. (1985) ‘Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency in Africa’, Journal of Juvenile Law, 9, 1, 12–35.
Jefferson, A. M. (2007) ‘Prison Officer Training and Practice in Nigeria: Contention, Contradiction and Re-imagining Reform Strategies’, Punishment and Society, 9, 3, 253–69.
Lindegaard, R. (2009) Coconuts, Gangsters and Rainbow Fighters. How Male Youngsters Navigate Situations of Violence in Cape Town, South Africa (Amsterdam: PhD University of Amsterdam).
Long, N. (2001) Development Sociology: Actor Perspectives (London: Routledge).
Martin, T. (2012) ‘Human Rights in Ugandan Prisons’, Unpublished paper presented at An International Symposium on Prison Ethnography (Milton Keynes: The Open University).
Monahan, T. and Fisher, J. (2010) ‘Benefits of “Observer Effects”: Lessons from the Field’, Qualitative Research, 10, 3, 357–76.
Omoniyi, T., Scheld, S. and Oni, D. (2009) ‘Negotiating Youth Identity in a Transnational Context In Nigeria’, Social Dynamics, 35, 1–18.
Peters, K. (2006) Footpaths for Reintegration; Armed Conflict, Youth and the Rural Crisis in Sierra Leone (Wageningen: Unitversiteit van Wageningen).
Petersen, I., Bhana, A. and McKay, M. (2005) ‘Sexual Violence and Youth in South Africa: The Need for Community-Based Prevention Interventions’, Child Abuse and Neglect, 29, 11, 1233–48.
Rubin, H. J. and Rubin, I. S. (1995) Qualitative Interviewing. The Art of Hearing Data: Choosing Interviewees and Hearing What They Say (Thousand Oaks: Sage).
Sarkin, J. (2008) Human rights in African Prisons (Capetown, South Africa: HCRC Press).
Sauls, H. (2009) Delinquency or Resilience? How Interpretations of Violence Translate Into the Daily Management of Children in a Place of Safety in Cape Town, Unpublished paper presented at the Medical Anthropology at Intersections: Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity (New Haven, CT: Yale University).
Sparks, R. (1996) Prisons, Punishment and Penality (London: Sage).
Steinberg, J. (2004) One Man’s Search for Identity in the Cape Underworld and Prison Gangs (Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Lilian Ayete-Nyampong
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ayete-Nyampong, L. (2015). Changing Hats: Transiting between Practitioner and Researcher Roles. In: Drake, D.H., Earle, R., Sloan, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Ethnography. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137403889_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137403889_17
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-68058-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-40388-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)