Under Construction @ Keele 2016 Volume 2 Issue 1 | Page 35

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judgement was made as to the scope of the original consent, the specific conditions
under which the secondary data was constructed and under what pretences it was
written.50 In the context of the qualitative penal documents, it was then possible to
construct new interpretations of the data which had gone relatively untouched since
they were devised throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th century.
According to Grimwade and Speer and Stokoe, undertaking research in order
to redress a dearth of knowledge and understanding necessitates confronting and
challenging the strong patriarchal and positivistic traditions in the fields of
criminology and corrections.51 Kay Standing similarly states:
It is the dilemma of trying to challenge, not reproduce, hierarchies of
power and knowledge; the dilemma of not losing the ‘authenticity’,
emotion and vibrancy of women’s voices, whilst not positioning them as
‘other’, and distancing ourselves from the political challenge of feminist
research in the ‘objective’ language of academia.52
Nevertheless, a major stereotype involved in social and critical historical research is
that most researchers are perceived and labelled as ‘epistemologically naïve’.53
Robert Vitalis further notes how those who choose to take the archival route within
their research project, ultimately ‘have their work cut out for them’ as their time in the
field will be short and mistakes costly.54 This however, has not been the case with
this research. Although the archival documentary material was difficult to locate in
the very first instance in terms of what semi-penal institutional data was still in
existence; once located, they were relatively easy to access.
Concluding Thoughts

50

See Sally E. Thorne, “Secondary Analysis in Qualitative Research: Issues and Implications,” in
Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods, edited by J.M. Morse (London: Sage, 1994).
51
Christopher Grimwade, “Diminishing Opportunities: Researching Women’s Imprisonment,” in
Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods, edited by Sandy Cook and Suzanne Davies (York:
Maple Press, 1999): 291-213.
52
Kay Standing, “Writing the voices of the less powerful: Research on lone mothers,” in Feminist
Dilemmas in Qualitative Research, edited by J. Ribbens and R. Edwards (London: Sage, 1998) 201.
53
Robert Vitalis, “The Past is another Country,” in A Handbook for Social Science Field Research,
edited by E. Perecman and S.R. Curran (London: Sage, 2006) 10.
54
Ibid., 14-15.