Research Article Analysis

Research Article Analysis : Using Inmate Survey Data in Assessing Prison Performance : A Case Study Comparing Private and Public Prisons

October 20 , 2007

The purpose of this study was to prove that using inmate surveys can provide critical prison comparison information in areas such as food service , sanitation , safety , security , and gang-related activity . The researchers wanted to show that surveys can be an effective means in gathering operational information to compare and contrast multiple prisons . The researchers of this study intended to show that inmate surveys can be used to supplement operational

reviews and audits

In addressing the purpose of this study , the researchers identified three main questions . The following questions were believed to be highly relevant and important

How were inmate responses conditioned by the institutions in which they were incarcerated

Were the inmate 's responses affected by any differences between the prisons

Do inmates provide the same information as the prison staff when asked about prison conditions

This study is quantitative . The tool (s ) used were surveys . The resulting data is in the form of numbers and statistics . These numbers and statistics are presented in tables , graphs , and /or charts

A version of the Prison Social Climate Survey (PSCS , designed and used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for prison staff , was used for the inmates . Ten low-security prisons were chosen . There were 1 ,080 inmates , able to complete the survey , yielding a response rate of 88

There were a questions were constructed to be similar to the staff 's PSCS . The following are a few of those questions

Has there been any gang-related activity within the last six months

How likely is an inmate 's assault while in their living quarters

During the last six months , how frequently have shakedowns occurred

How often have insects , dirt , etc , been a problem within the housing units

How often have insects , dirt , etc , been a problem within the dining area (s

How noisy has your housing unit been during sleeping hours

The researchers followed four basic methodological task steps Investigating the organization properties of the collected data from both the inmates and the staff was the first step . Next , once these properties were further defined , the evaluations of the inmates and staff were examined to see how similar they were throughout the various prisons . Bar graphs were one of the assessment tools used in this step Then , the researchers examined whether the inmates of a prison had a tendency to respond to every aspect of the prison 's operations in the same fashion . For this step , a Parallel Coordinates Display was used The final step involved using all of the above information to compare the selected Bureau of Prisons institutions with the chosen private prison

The results of this study suggest that it can be productive in using inmates to evaluate conditions where they are incarcerated . The researchers believed that using the inmate 's surveys , in addition to the staff 's surveys , could provide quality statistical comparison information . This survey also...