^aBinghamton University, SUNY, Binghamton, NY

Abstract

This essay compares major social science studies on the experiences of Chicanas(os)/Latinas(os) incarcerated in New York and California state prisons. It reviews researchers' motivations for conducting the studies, major questions posed, research methods, findings and conclusions, and their interrelationship. The discussion highlights ethical and methodological dilemmas confronted by researchers. A main objective is to help scholars formulate the most effective methods for carrying out institutional case studies of Chicana(o)/Latina(o) prisoners in the US that simultaneously yield the type of information most useful to all seeking to change oppressive conditions inside and outside the walls. Underlying questions are: What impact do pre-prison experiences have on imprisoned Chicanas(os)? What effect does imprisonment have on pintas(os)' and their barrios? How do prisons reproduce and, therefore, reinforce, differential power relationships existing on the outside? The essay concludes with a brief review of the major findings and a commentary on the methodologies most likely to generate the desired information.