Dr Alister Thorpe
Decolonising ethics? A critical analysis of researchers’ intended ethical research practices
Abstract
From an Indigenous standpoint, how do researchers demonstrate the values of reciprocity, respect, equality, responsibility, survival and protection, and spirit and integrity? The purpose of this research was to explore how researchers implemented the National Health and Medical Research Council’s ethical guidelines for research with Indigenous communities according to the experiences of three distinct groups: Indigenous participants, Indigenous community coordinators, and researchers.
A decolonising approach was adopted applying a critical race-grounded methodology to privilege Indigenous voices and to allow broader examination of dominant social structures in the Australian context. Using Indigenous standpoint theory this research described the complex structural conditions related to Indigenous ethical processes that exist at the cultural interface between Indigenous and academic systems.
This study revealed Indigenous community-controlled research governance models for reviewing, approving, and monitoring researchers, were being established independently of the research sector. This study also identified the challenges of complying with ethics in two worlds, revealed the undervalued contribution of Indigenous communities to ethical research, and revealed systemic barriers and enablers for ethical Indigenous health research.
Supervisors
School
Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health