title: Art and science in health care research: pushing at open doors or locked in institutions?
abstract: Research methods are usually dictated and driven by the research question. In the context of research in "closed" systems--for example, offender health settings--it is imperative that the research question takes into consideration the context in which the research is located. Conducting research that has action, transformation, and creativity at its heart is a significant challenge in closed cultures, for both the researcher and the researched. Using two exemplars, we question whether researchers should adopt a safe approach to researching these closed cultures and to what extent they should engage in methodological tensions and ethical dilemmas that provoke and support reflection on change. By reflecting on our previous research studies, we aim not so much to provide a definitive answer to this question but to suggest that researchers give careful consideration to the methods appropriate to both the context of the research and its purpose.
authors: University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. d.s.freshwater@adm.leeds.ac.uk
authors: Dawn
authors: D
authors: Freshwater
authors: Jane
authors: J
authors: Cahill
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Walsh
authors: Tessa
authors: T
authors: Muncey
authors: Philip
authors: P
authors: Esterhuizen
mesh_terms: D001154:Art; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons; D012107:Research Design; D012586:Science