Coming to an ethics of research practice in a remote Aboriginal Australian community

This paper identifies the latent opportunities and challenges inherent in the formative stages of a project that was resumed after partial completion by other on-the-ground research teams.

Grounded theory methods were used to analyse project documentation from previous research teams and to generate new process-oriented data.

The intention of all research teams was moving towards Engaging in Community-Based Participatory Research; this was conceptually identified as the core category. The social process involved in achieving community engagement practice was named Coming to an Ethics of Practice. Four different facets comprised the core category: Developing meaningful relationships; being reflective; recognising difference; and making research relevant.

To achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, researchers conducting community-based research with Aboriginal people must implement strengths-based approaches to realise ethically sound research; prioritise the relevance of the research to the daily lives, needs and aspirations of those with whom they work; and in doing so, remain cognisant of their own philosophical position and context in which the research is located.