Researching Crime and State Power

By Alana Barton and Karen Corteen

This book is concerned with the practical, ethical and political realities of critical research around state punishment. By definition, critical research is a dynamic and political process which recognizes the broad structural contexts within which human action takes place. Critical researchers argue for a more dynamic and reflexive approach to research, and have duties to expose oppressive structures and practices, make audible voices that are habitually silenced, and empower and emancipate marginalized groups and individuals.

Based on a series of interviews conducted with researchers within and outside of academia, this book aims to capture the personal challenges, ethical dilemmas, practical obstacles, positive rewards and (potential or actual) harmful effects of undertaking critical research concerned with state punishment. It will also explore the different mediums used to disseminate research findings and how such findings are received by peers, the public and the state.

Researching Punishment is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of criminology, media, sociology, journalism, film studies, and cultural studies.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415453739
• ISBN13: 9780415453738
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 176 Pages