Doing Qualitative Research in a Controlled Site: Challenges, Lessons, and Strategies

Abstract

This paper reflects on the process of undertaking qualitative research with incarcerated individuals and prison staff in selected Ghana prisons. The challenges encountered during the planning, approval, and fieldwork stages, as well as measures adopted to address these challenges, have been discussed. The paper aims to serve as a guide to novel prison researchers in the sub-Saharan African context, given that the majority of studies on challenges and approaches to conducting prison research have come from jurisdictions outside the region. To this end, given the unique nature of the prison governance system in Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries, this paper contributes to filling a knowledge gap in qualitative prison research.

Prison Overcrowding and Harsh Conditions: Health and Human Rights Concerns to Persons in Custody, Staff, and the Community

“…First, the extant literature on overcrowding in the African context has reported the negative impact of overcrowding on prison violence and infractions (Baffour, 2020;Sibisi & Olofinbiyi, 2021). Second, Baffour et al (2022a) suggested that the prison administration system and conditions in the global North and west are different from those in the global South, particularly ghana. That said, even though we are not attempting to trivialize overcrowding in the global North and west, we assume that the congestion and condition of living described by the participants in this study suggest an environment drowned in tension partly due to struggle over basic needs such as food, sleeping space, and toilet facilities.…”

“…Future research that extends investigation to all persons in custody could build on the current study to provide much more diverse information on prison overcrowding. Further, one study in Ghana reported the intense security protocols researchers go through to conduct prison research (Baffour et al, 2022a). This always creates a tense ambiance for researchers and participants alike, and we noticed this during a few interviews during data collection.…”

“…Indeed, the challenges associated with overcrowding are grievous, physically and emotionally draining, particularly for persons in custody, and the associated human rights violation and physical and mental health are reported in the literature (Baffour et al, 2022a; Spencer, 2012; Topp et al, 2017).…”

“…Currently, the Ghana prison system accommodates 15,228 individuals, including remand prisoners and pretrial detainees (GPS, 2023), indicating an excess of 4,963 individuals. The extant literature has reported poor conditions and limited access to basic needs such as health and food in Ghana prisons (Baffoe-Bonnie et al, 2019; Baffour et al, 2022a).…”

Criminal records and post-prison employment in Ghana: Formal and informal means of performing criminal background checks

“…Initially, this posed a limitation to the collection of information-rich data as the participants perceived the researcher already had answers to the questions they were being asked and made statements such as, 'You know this already, you know what I am talking about, and you are a Ghanaian and what I am saying is not new to you'. This limitation was overcome by further exploring their initial responses, which allowed them to complete unfinished statements and shed light on their assertions (Baffour et al, 2022).…”