Data collection and analysis can be used to better understand the outcomes, successes, and challenges of education programs, including postsecondary education programs in prisons. Research has many potential benefits; however, marginalized populations, such as people who are incarcerated, have historically been vulnerable to exploitation in research. This brief highlights resources on best practices for researchers to protect the autonomy, privacy, and rights of individuals who are incarcerated, such as community-level ethics review boards and involving incarcerated individuals as co-researchers in the data collection process. The resources cover federal guidelines and protections, ethical data collection frameworks and methodologies, and reentry data collection.[1]

Disclaimer: Resources listed here provide guidance on conducting research in correctional facilities, but not all use preferred person-first language in discussing the correctional system (see https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/04/12/what-words-we-use-and-avoid-when-covering-people-and-incarceration).

About JFF's Language Choices

Jobs for the Future strives to use equitable and inclusive language in all of our published content. Sometimes we share materials like these prepared by other organizations whose language choices differ from our own. In those cases, we use their terms to preserve accuracy. See our Language Matters Guide to learn more about the terms we use when we’re writing about education and employment programs for people with records of arrests, conviction, or incarceration.