A realist lens on music programmes in prison

This chapter critically examines the use of a realist lens to study participatory music programmes in prisons, and, more specifically, the questions how, why, for whom, and under which circumstances music programmes work. Due to its method neutrality (i.e., combining different data collection methods), it aims to test and refine theory, and use of ontological depth (i.e., looking at the different layers that encompass a reality), this perspective offers researchers a way to look in depth at the causal underlying processes. It combines context (C), mechanisms (M), and outcomes (O) in CMO configurations, a heuristic tool for clarifying generative causation. Nevertheless, when applying this realist lens, we experienced two challenges: the rigidity inherent in (formulating) linear CMO configurations, and the substantial complexity, necessitating a certain level of researcher expertise.