The purpose of the study would be to examine the misconduct of prison wardens specifically as it relates to how they treat inmates.
The role used to observe
The role I would use to observe is a participant observer. This implies that I would have to impersonate myself as an inmate in the prison facility under investigation. As an inmate, I will be locked in the prison facility and would undertake the same sort of activities as the inmates. In short, I would have to be one of them and receive the same type of treatment as the rest.
How to gain access to the subjects
The success of this role would depend greatly on support and coordination from the law enforcement agencies. First and foremost, the law enforcement agencies would need to understand the essence and importance of the study to the criminal justice system. Gaining access to the subjects of the study would therefore require permission from the law enforcement authorities to be locked up in the prison. Nevertheless, the prison facility should not be aware of my presence as an investigator because their knowledge would alter the natural setting of the prison. For instance, if the prison knows that my role is to observe how the prison wardens treat the inmates, the prison would force the wardens to treat the inmates in a different manner than the norm so that their reputation is not damaged.
Questions to be asked
The questions that I would like to ask the inmates include: How often do you have your meals? How would you describe the quality of the foods you eat at the prison? What type of punishment are you given by the prison wardens? Do you have time to engage in any social activities like sports? Do the prison wardens assault you physically, verbally, sexually, or any other way?
In addition to getting the responses to the questions through informal interviews with the inmates, I would also be able to get the responses to the questions by observing what goes on in the prison.
Recording the observations
Recording the observations will be done using two main instruments: a video camera and field notes. The video camera would have to be unnoticeable and so small that I can hide it in my clothes wherever I go. The essence of this is to avoid attracting the attention of the wardens or the administrators of the prison facility who may discover who exactly I am and thus may end up disrupting my investigation. The use of the video camera would enable me to record most of what goes on in the prison, for instance, how the prison wardens treat the inmates, the types of punishment the inmates are forced to carry out, and the types of meals they are fed. The major advantage of the video camera is that it can capture the video as well as the audio aspects of the observations.
Field notes would also be used to record observations. Field notes will be used to record those observations or happenings that cannot be captured by the video camera, for instance, the frequency with which the inmates are fed, whether or not they are allowed to engage in social activities, and issue concerning the prison culture. The use of these two instruments would enable the researcher to gain a deeper insight into the problem under investigation.