I chose to review an article from the Canadian Journal of Native Education which contained a research journal from UBC research Amy Parent.
The three ethical issues that she addressed (although there were more) are as follows.
1) Reflecting the understanding of how central appropriate research can be to the decolonialization process A. Parent conducted her research in a manner that was true to the epistemology of Canadian Indigenous communities. To do this effectively, she utilized a wholistic qualitative research method which emphasizes the “ecological aspects” of ethical research identified by Flinders (1992). Incorporating a combination of sharing circles, individual interviews and paired interviews in a setting that was familiar and comfortable to the participants.
2) The second issue that she addressed was the need for ethical research to be cognizant of a community’s needs. This was accomplished by adhering to traditional protocols and involving a community elder as a guide to ensure that “relational” aspects of ethical research are met.
3) And the third ethical issue managed was to safeguard the needs and show responsibility to the participants involved in the research. This was managed in a variety of ways, but one of the most significant was to hold information sessions that openly highlited the research implications and the ethical considerations for the participants.
As a final note, I was a bit surprised that no mention was made of altering the participants names to protect confidentiality. Do you think this is just assumed to have been done? Or do articles make special mention of this practice?
PC
Flinders, D. (1992). In search of ethical guidance: constructing a basis for dialogue. Qualitative Studies in Education, 5(2), 101-115.
Parent, A. (2011) “Keeping us coming back for more.”: Urban Aboriginal Youth Speak About Wholistic Education. Canadian Journal of Native Education. 34(1) 28-48.
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