Not given lightly: Side-taking in prison research

Based on field work at three high-security and two low-security prisons in Norway I examine this question and explores issues of side-taking in prison research. My point of departure is the methodological implications of the virtual discussion “Whose side are we on?” held between Howard Becker and Alison Liebling. Drawing on insights from feminist contributions to the philosophy of science and situated research methodology I go on to situate the research project “To talk about crime”, in an attempt to critically assess how issues related to side-taking infiltrate the research process and the knowledge claims of the research.