On not doing co-produced research: the methodological possibilities and limitations of co-producing research with participants in a prison

Hoult, Elizabeth (2018) On not doing co-produced research: the methodological possibilities and limitations of co-producing research with participants in a prison. In: Banks, S.J. and Hart, A. and Pahl, K. and Ward, P. (eds.) Co-Producing Research. Connected Communities. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press. ISBN 9781447340768.

Abstract

To what extent is it possible to adhere to the principles of co-produced research with communities when the community involved resides in a prison? This chapter explores this question in the context of a science fiction research project which took place in a UK category D men’s prison in 2014-2015. The researcher worked with participants to form a science fiction film discussion group in which films were used to frame conversations about hope and alternative futures in global, community and individual contexts. The impetus for the project was underpinned by two ideas: exploration of imaginative and speculative representations of utopia; and a methodological aspiration towards the application of arts-based methods to research with a community. There were significant methodological tensions involved in attempting to implement a co-produced methodology in a prison setting. In practice, co-production was jettisoned in favour of a more traditional methodology at the planning, permissions and implementation stages. This chapter charts the course of the decision not to pursue co-production in this context and it explores the reasons why that decision was made. Specific methodological challenges involved in working in a prison are explored and it is argued that sometimes co-production is not appropriate in some settings. It is also suggested that, despite these challenges, there is an argument for the implementation of co-production in prison contexts if the understanding of co-produced methodologies can stretch across projects.

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