When seeking to conduct research from an Indigenous paradigm perspective there are multiple elements to carefully plan. In the following video, Bagele runs through many of these.
Planning your decolonial research
In this video, Bagele discussed the following key decisions that you will need to consider in your research planning:
- Defining the research agenda and the role of participants/communities in framing this agenda
- Will the research you plan to do bring about transformation?
- Will the research have a clear stance against political, academic and methodological imperialism?
- Will the research take a stance against Western archival knowledge and its colonising and othering ideologies?
- How will you decide on your research design and methodology (and consider how this relates to research paradigms)?
- What is the purpose of the study and what are the research questions?
- What sort of data will be required?
- How will the data be analysed and who will analyse it? Will your research use Indigenous analytic frameworks?
- Will the research problematise and critique the tendency to make the participants speak through the voice, academic language, and theories of the West?
- Whose worldviews and theories will be used to conceptualise and analyse the data? Who will verify and validate the data and the way it is interpreted?
- What are you going to do with the data? Who will own the data? Where will it be stored?
- How will you be responsive to the needs and aspirations of the community?
- How will you present and report the results? In what language? Who will be listed as authors?
- Will the research results be available, accessible and usable for both the community and international scholars?
Further reading
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Measurement Consortium. (2025). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing measures. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/first-nations-wellbeing-measures/contents/summary
Anacin, C. (2024). Insider research in migration and music sociology: Contextualizing Indigenous and (g)local method(ologie)s in studying migrant musicians. The Qualitative Report, 29(5), 1513–1524 . https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6820
Drahm-Butler, T. (2015). Decolonising identity stories: Narrative practice through Aboriginal eyes. In B. Wingard, C. Johnson, & T. Drahm-Butler (Eds.), Aboriginal narrative practice: Honouring storylines of pride, stength and creativity (pp. 25–46). Dulwich Centre Publications.[link]
Drahm-Butler, T. (2015, November 27). Decolonising identity stories by Tileah Drahm-Butler [Video]. https://dulwichcentre.com.au/decolonising-identity-stories-by-tileah-drahm-butler/
Fanon, F. (1986). Black Skin, white masks (C. L. Markmann, Trans.). Pluto Press. (Original work published 1952)
Fanon, F. (2008). The wretched of the Earth (R. Philcox, Trans.). Grove Press. (Original work published 1961)
Gastardo-Conaco, M. C. (2005). The development of a Filipino Indigenous psychology. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 38(2), 1–17.
Gee, G., Dudgeon, P., Schultz, C., Hart, A., & Kelly, K. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and emotional wellbeing. In P. Dudgeon, H. Milroy, & R. Walker (Eds.), Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2nd ed., pp. 55–58 ). Commonwealth Government of Australia. [link]
Jilani, S. (2025). Fanon’s psycho-politics of decolonisation. Review of African Political Economy, 52(186):549–555 . http://doi.org/10.62191/ROAPE-2025-0032
Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing. (2021). Fact sheet: social and emotional wellbeing. [link]
Yunkaporta, T., & Moodie, D. (2019, July 1). Thought ritual: An Indigenous information analysis method for research [Paper presentation]. 2019 National Indigenous Research Conference, Brisbane, Queensland. https://aiatsis.gov.au/publication/116472
Reflect
Please consider just one of the questions above and write a short reflection below about how you are seeking to respond to it.