Enacting research ethics in partnerships with Indigenous communities in Canada : "Do it in a good way"
Date
2008
Authors
Ball, Jessica
Janyst, Pauline
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of California Press
Abstract
Two studies conducted through community-campus partnerships demonstrated emerging
frameworks for ethical conduct of research involving Indigenous peoples in Canada. Both projects involved multiple Indigenous community partners whose interests
in promoting children’s development and fathers’ involvement motivated the projects. The Indigenous projects were conceived within a broader social agenda of restorative justice and self-determination of Indigenous peoples in Canada following centuries of colonial government interventions. Guiding principles included
community relevance, community participation, mutual capacity building, and benefit to Indigenous communities.
Memoranda of Understanding negotiated with each community partner specified the roles of community and university partners and research team members in each phase of the research. Testimonials obtained from
community representatives before and after the research projects indicated the success of the projects in yielding benefits to the communities in the form of substantive
knowledge and strengthened capacities to engage in collaborative research through community-campus partnerships. The larger collaborative research projects
in which these two Indigenous projects were embedded created challenges and opportunities due to varying recognition within these networks of the primacy of
relationships as a foundation for research and the indeterminacy of outcomes when ownership of data and control over dissemination is in the hands of community partners.
Description
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Citation
Ball J. Enacting research ethics in partnerships with indigenous communities in Canada : "Do it in a good way"Journal of empirical research on human research ethics 3 : 33 DOI 10.1525/jer.2008.3.2.33 2008