Doing fieldwork on criminal justice in China

• Author: FU Xin
• Pages: 114-137

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 12 MARCH 2017 NO. 1

DOI 10.3868/s050-006-017-0007-4

ARTICLE

DOING FIELDWORK ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CHINA

FU Xin∗

Abstract This study examines fieldwork-methodology problems in China that few

scholars have discussed in social science, criminology and law, and describes the

author’s experiences in conducting fieldwork for an empirical study of criminal justice

in mid- and western China in three aspects: general access to the courts and

procuratorates, informed consent in interviews, and access to courtroom trials and case

files. It argues that researchers need to understand and exercise social, cultural and

political sensitivities in overcoming various challenges and difficulties in data collection.

Making use of guanxi, building up trust, and developing friendship are essential to the

access to the field in China.

Keywords fieldwork, criminal justice, China, guanxi, building trust

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................114

I. ACCESS TO THE FIELD SITES.....................................................................................115

II. FAMILIARIZATION WITH THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT......................................... 120

III. DOING THE FIELDWORK........................................................................................ 123

A. Access to the Case Files ....................................................................................123

B. Access to the Courtroom ...................................................................................126

C. Access to the Justice Personnel......................................................................... 128

1. Obtaining Consent......................................................................................... 129

2. Record of the Interview .................................................................................134

3. Dress of the Interviewers, Payment and Location Problems......................... 134

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................ 136

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, China has attracted more and more attention of scholars in social

∗ (付欣) Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR,

China; Senior Lecturer, School of Foreign Languages, Northwest University of Political Science and Law,

Xi’an 710122, China. Contact: fuxinadr@163.com

This article is also the staged outcome of a research project funded by the Research Center of China

Judicial Reform at Sichuan University (Project No. 2015DJKT25). The author would like to express his

thanks to Professor ZUO Weimin at Sichuan University for his insightful comments on the draft paper; and to

Mike McConville, Founding Dean and Emeritus Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty

of Law for his advice, comments, and help in polishing this article.

2017] DOING FIELDWORK ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CHINA 115

science criminology and law from a comparative perspective. But only a few researchers

have mentioned the research methodology of the fieldwork in their publications.1 In fact,

many (foreign) researchers are still facing difficulties in accessing field sites, interviews

with the criminal justice personnel, including the defense lawyers, courtroom trials and

case files, and conducting group focus discussions or questionnaire surveys in the site in

China, due to various reasons. Field data is essential to the success of research with the

empirical nature. The purpose of this article is to share my field experience and provide

some useful information to researchers who have no field experience in China. It

examines major issues involved in fieldwork in China, including general access to the

courts and procuratorates, a key step to secure the success of the research project;

informed consent in interviews to fulfill the basic ethical requirements of research; access

to courtroom trials and case files for the purpose of collecting first-hand but real field

data.2 This is mostly based on my experiences in conducting fieldwork for an empirical

study of criminal justice in China. This article consists of three parts: general access to

the field, familiarization with the field environment, and data collection in the fieldwork.

I. ACCESS TO THE FIELD SITES

Access is generally accepted as one of the key issues for researchers, whether in

Western countries or China. Theoretically, the selection of field sites should involve five

criteria: simplicity, accessibility, unobtrusiveness, permission, and participation. 3 In

practice, it is impossible to meet all these criteria: an initial minimum requirement for

1 There are some publications on empirical research in the criminal justice area in China, such as

Professor ZUO Weimin, CHEN Guangzhong, CHEN Weidong and SONG Yinghui. Some scholars also

discussed the problems on the application, reliability, and objectivity of such research, in which very few

specific methods on field access are mentioned. See, e.g. QIAN Hongdao & CUI He, 中国法学实证研究客观

性难题求解——韦伯社会科学方法论的启示 (The Solution to the Problem of Objectivity of Empirical Legal

Research in China), 5 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版) (Journal of Zhejiang University (Humanities and Social

Sciences)), 124–138 (2014); TANG Yingmao, 法律实证研究的受众问题 (The Problem of Audiences of Legal

Empirical Research), 4 法学 (Legal Science), 25–28 (2013); CHEN Jinghui, 法律与社会科学研究的方法论批

判 (Methodological Critique on the Research of Law and Social Science), 1 政法论坛 (Tribune of Political

Science and Law), 46–60 (2013).

2 In fact, what the fieldwork may include also covers other methods such as group focus, surveys, or

questionnaires for the parties and criminal justice personnel, but given the availability of the research and

degree of the most commonly used research methods, my focus only concentrates on the issues relating to

overall access to the court and specific access to case files, courtroom observations, and interviews with key

personnel in the justice institutions. Moreover, people may argue that analysis and disposition of the field data

may be part of the fieldwork; however, I decided to omit this important part because of the complexity and

sensitivity of the data if it is illustrated via real personal experiences to prove the significance of obeying

professional or social ethics. But the overall research logic of the fieldwork is “General access to the

fieldwork” — “Familiarization with the working environment” — “various ways of development of

friendship and building trust” — “Data collection through various methods” — “Disposition and analysis

of the field data (including publishing a project report or research paper [a book on the research]).”

3 Robert Burgess, In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research, George Allen & Unwin Ltd (London),

at 61 (1984).