Experiencing ‘doing research’ in the Youth Criminological Field

Ann Evenepoel, Sofie De Bus

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingMeeting abstract (Book)

Abstract

The existing body of methodological handbooks can guide researchers in studying youth criminological themes. However, when the moment has come to enter the ‘field’ it becomes more and more clear that as a researcher we are never fully prepared for the difficulties we may encounter in the process of our study. Especially when we are dealing with sensitive topics and vulnerable subjects (like youths in our case). To date this remains a relatively unexplored field within the criminological endeavor. Therefore we will address in this paper the difficulties we have encountered in each of our own study. During our field work we have faced the dilemma of ‘whose side are we on’ (Becker, 1967) while taking the position as an observant in one research and even a participant in the other. It demonstrates a dichotomy between the researcher as a compassionate person and as an objective scientist (Nuytiens en Scheirs, 2011). As a consequence, the researcher faces an ambivalent position in dealing with these issues, a remarkable finding that requires reflection.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEuropean Society of Criminology, 15th Annual Congress 2015, Porto
Publication statusPublished - 4 Sep 2015
Event15th annual conference of the European Society of Criminology, Eurocrim 2015 - Porto, Portugal
Duration: 2 Sep 20155 Sep 2015

Conference

Conference15th annual conference of the European Society of Criminology, Eurocrim 2015
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityPorto
Period2/09/155/09/15

Keywords

  • Criminological research
  • Position of the researcher
  • Choosing sides

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