The comments I got on my previously submitted research proposal: The supervisors expertise is in climate change adaptation so the professor has relatively detailed knowledge on the impacts of green space on health and well-being and would particularly welcome a focus on this area. It might usefully begin with a review of prison (or other institutional) design over time to provide context to one or two case studies of contemporary practice that may involve interviews/survey. We think that the idea of exploring prison design and the connection to the environment to be an interesting one with the potential for a significant contribution to knowledge. The proposal, as it stands, covers a range of areas of interest biophilic design, psychology and environment, mental health and well-being, reoffending rates in prison, security and safety, and economic aspects. However, such a wide-ranging proposal can be weak as not every aspect is justified. There is also a concern that the knowledge that the candidate wishes to gain and analyze may not be possible within the time-frame of a Ph.D. Our main recommendation is that the proposal is significantly narrowed down by exploring a particular research question of interest (e.g. What is the impact of natural environments in the design of prisons on the mental health and well-being of prisoners and staff?). When this question is finalized then the candidate needs to develop an aim and a set of objectives. More thought needs to be given to the methodology to underpin the investigation, particularly around the choice of case studies (i.e. the justification for a cross-country comparison) and how the candidate proposes to construct a method for comparing the results of the case studies (i.e. what is being assessed and what methods are appropriate to that assessment). How would each of the selected methods relate to the objectives outlined? Furthermore, what are the potential outcomes of the research (e.g. would there be a set of principles on how to include biophilic approaches in prison design to improve mental health and well-being of prisoners and staff)? The outcomes at present are quite general and lack precision. There are, ethical issues with engaging with research on prisons as well as accessing the information on prison design/completing site visits. We recommend that the candidate examines potential information sources as part of the proposal in order to mitigate the risk that data will be difficult to obtain. Are there any organizations that could be contacted and may be willing to contribute to the research?
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