Researcher Skills Toolkit
Data that pertains to Indigenous peoples is a complex legal and ethical terrain. Whether it is cultural, linguistic, medical, or otherwise, such data usually needs to be managed and shared with care and considerations of self-determination and the right of people to have a say about managing their cultural heritage in ways that are meaningful to them. (Indigenous data - ARDC)
|
The University of Newcastle is committed to excellence in Indigenous research. This means producing world-leading research into issues, topics and concepts that are guided by, and responsive to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. (Indigenous Education and Research Framework 2021, p. 8)
|
When conducting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research you need to understand and acknowledge any cultural and ethical considerations and conduct your research with integrity. The ARDC Indigenous data page include links to a range of general advice for the Australian context, and examples of guidance from individual communities, tools, and platforms.
The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, developed by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA), acknowledge the crucial role of data in advancing Indigenous innovation and self-determination and describe four principles to be aware of when dealing with Indigenous data.
Collective benefit - Data ecosystems shall be designed and function in ways that enable Indigenous Peoples to derive benefit from the data
Authority to control - Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests in Indigenous data must be recognised and their authority to control such data be empowered. Indigenous data governance enables Indigenous Peoples and governing bodies to determine how Indigenous Peoples, as well as Indigenous lands, territories, resources, knowledges, and geographical indicators, are represented and identified within data.
Responsibility - Those working with Indigenous data have a responsibility to share how those data are used to support Indigenous Peoples’ self- determination and collective benefit. Accountability requires meaningful and openly available evidence of these efforts and the benefits accruing to Indigenous Peoples
Ethics - Indigenous Peoples’ rights and wellbeing should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle and across the data ecosystem.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty Readiness Assessment and Evaluation Toolkit - Developed to evaluate Indigenous Data Sovereignty (ID-SOV) principles and practices in action within research and academic organisations, and as a resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations to identify ID-SOV in practice
Carroll, S.R., Herczog, E., Hudson, M. et al. Operationalizing the CARE and FAIR Principles for Indigenous data futures. Scientific Data 8, 108 (2021). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-021-00892-0
Robinson, C.J., Kong, T., Coates, R. et al. (2021). Caring for Indigenous data to evaluate the benefits of Indigenous environmental programs. Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01485-8
Ruckstuhl, K. (2022). Trust in scholarly communications and infrastructure: Indigenous data sovereignty. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2021.752336
 |
 |