What got me interested in the Changing The Hole
Mind Living & Working in Solitary Confinement During Reform project, was
the project’s goal. I have always been intrigued by prison reform and the
organizational functions of the prison system. I heard about the project from a
friend who had participated in a similar project the year prior; this prompted
me to apply immediately.
When I think about my long-term goals, I believe
the Changing The Hole Mind project plays a big part in what direction I want to
go in. While working on this project, I have found out I am rather passionate
about field research relating to prisons. Collecting the data was a new
experience and one I enjoyed quite a bit. Once the data was collected and we
started the process of coding the qualitative data (I thought I would suck at
it), it was fascinating to watch the data reflect what we were or were not
looking for. On a weekly basis, it varies what I do. In the weeks prior to a trip to an
institution, time was spent attending training. After visiting an institution,
I spent my time working on preparing the data to be coded. Finally, I spent my
time coding the prepared data. After coding, I then was able to query the data
and analyze my findings; the results helped answer my initial research
question.
What I discovered this term…is a lot. If I had
to narrow down what I discovered, it would be…I didn’t expect to find something
I wasn’t looking for. After constructing my research question with my partner,
I knew there was a strong chance we would find data to answer our question.
However, while I was coding, I discovered there was separate information, also appearing
in the data at a high frequency; I queried for this. I thought this was
exciting, I spoke to my mentor about it, and there might be a chance I can
switch over to work on this new data set. Which, I think is completely
thrilling and am ready to do. Overall, this has been a great growing experience
and an excellent opportunity to “get my hands dirty” within my future field.
