TY - JOUR
T1 - Researching the registered
T2 - challenges and suggestions for researchers studying sex offender populations
AU - Klein, Jennifer L.
AU - Bailey, Danielle J.S.
AU - Sample, Lisa L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2018/4/3
Y1 - 2018/4/3
N2 - As interest in registered sex offenders proves to be a popular topic among community members, the media, and legislators alike, researchers must continue to examine the experiences of this offender group. Sex offender registration and community notification laws are diverse across states, creating a difficult and confusing environment for registered sex offenders post-conviction. Often, registered sex offenders report experiences with social stigmatization and physical isolation from their communities as a result of their labeled status. This leads them to be distrustful of outsiders; researchers included. This paper examines the experiences of researchers who have conducted three quantitative and qualitative research projects focused on registered sex offenders and life on the registry. In addition to highlighting the challenges in conducting this type of research, this paper provides a discussion of four specific challenges that may occur when gathering data from community sex offender samples, and several recommendations to overcome these challenges.
AB - As interest in registered sex offenders proves to be a popular topic among community members, the media, and legislators alike, researchers must continue to examine the experiences of this offender group. Sex offender registration and community notification laws are diverse across states, creating a difficult and confusing environment for registered sex offenders post-conviction. Often, registered sex offenders report experiences with social stigmatization and physical isolation from their communities as a result of their labeled status. This leads them to be distrustful of outsiders; researchers included. This paper examines the experiences of researchers who have conducted three quantitative and qualitative research projects focused on registered sex offenders and life on the registry. In addition to highlighting the challenges in conducting this type of research, this paper provides a discussion of four specific challenges that may occur when gathering data from community sex offender samples, and several recommendations to overcome these challenges.
KW - Registered sex offenders
KW - participant protection
KW - qualitative research
KW - quantitative research
KW - researcher experiences
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U2 - 10.1080/1478601X.2018.1430033
DO - 10.1080/1478601X.2018.1430033
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044787399
SN - 1478-601X
VL - 31
SP - 192
EP - 211
JO - Criminal Justice Studies
JF - Criminal Justice Studies
IS - 2
ER -