01.24.25 // VISUAL METHODS FOR SENSITIVE ISSUES TEXTBOOK PUBLISHED



A chapter co-authored with Heith Copes, PhD and featuring images and research findings from Hellbender and The Circle is included in a new textbook, Visual Methods for Sensitive Images: Ethics and Reflexivity in Criminology On/Offline, published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of the Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture series. Edited by Silje Anderdal Bakken & Sidsel Harder, the book focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mediating sensitive visual data and covers a wide array of current examples and discussions of visual methods and ethics in contemporary, digital-life criminology. 

Chapter Abstract:
Incorporating photographs into research on crime and justice can be a valuable tool for  those who seek to understand the lives of those who engage in crime and drug use. Using photographs requires researchers to be aware of the ethical issues when incorporating and publishing images in public works. Our aim in this chapter is to discuss some of these ethical (and practical) issues that emerge when including photographs in research about crime and justice. Specifically, we discuss issues such as obtaining informed consent, empowering participants, and portraying people in ways that facilitate reflection and change. We rely on our prior work using photographs to study those who use drugs (e.g., methamphetamine and peyote) in rural Alabama to inform our discussion.

For more, visit: link.springer.com/book/9783031753718

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