Yarning and appreciative inquiry: The use of culturally appropriate and respectful research methods when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australian prisons

Abstract

With First Peoples and non–First Peoples scholars alike questioning the efficacy of research methods based solely upon accepted social science research paradigms with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, innovative and ontologically inclusive alternatives require consideration. Research conducted with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Northern Territory and Western Australia may provide such an opportunity, arguing for a method of ‘research at the interface’ that utilises appreciative inquiry with culturally appropriate conversations (yarning). Employed across four prisons, the interface research method was applied as an innovative solution to measuring prison performance. It highlighted the lived experience of incarceration while re-imagining the prison, as it exists when it functions at its best. The article begins with a snapshot of the research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prisons across the Northern Territory and Western Australia; this provides a frame through which to consider the efficacy of interfacing First Peoples research paradigms with Western traditional modes of research. Furthermore, the innovative application of appreciative inquiry to the prison is discussed. Given that appreciative inquiry explores and privileges the narrative as a means of making sense of the prison experience, the authors suggest it complements the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition of ‘yarning’. A yarning style represents a way of ensuring cultural safety, respect and the utilisation of First Peoples ontology to research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Overall, it is delineated how interfacing appreciative inquiry and yarning may provide a viable alternative to the deep colonising and perpetually oppressive use of Western modes of scholarship when engaging in research with First Peoples.

Concepts of Health-Related Quality of Life of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children: Parent Perceptions

“…A phenomenological approach is flexible and is able to incorporate Indigenous research methods such as yarning (D'Antoine et al 2019). Yarning is a traditional method of communication within Indigenous Australian culture, involving the sharing of stories and knowledge in a mutually respectful way (Leeson et al 2016). Yarning has become an accepted method of qualitative enquiry within Australia and has also been used in communitybased epidemiology studies (Valery et al 2003).…”

“Got to build that trust”: Aboriginal Health Workers’ perspectives and experiences of maternal oral health

“…Yarning is a culturally safe, credible and rigorous method of research with Aboriginal peoples. [25,26] Yarning focuses on sharing and exchanging Aboriginal knowledge yet simultaneously establishes and builds respect, reciprocity and trust. [25] It is different from traditional focus groups as Aboriginal peoples are privileged and are positioned as the custodians of knowledge.…”

“…Yarning also ensures that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ontology, epistemology and axiology are prioritised by creating a safe space. [26] Although non-Indigenous researchers convened 'focus group' discussions (the term 'focus group' will be used for consistency), they became yarning circles where AHWs and FPWs exchanged knowledge and shared stories in an Aboriginal way, through yarning. These focus groups changed from a one-sided researcher-participant to a more dynamic exchange where the non-Indigenous researchers could learn from the Aboriginal staff, building trust and reciprocity.…”

Nothing Works? A Meta-Review of Indigenous Sentencing Court Evaluations

“…Cultural safety in research involving Indigenous peoples requires the prioritisation of Indigenous research methodologies and values (Leeson, Smith and Rynne 2016), which embodies notions of spirit and integrity, reciprocity, respect, equality, survival and protection, and responsibility (National Health and Medical Research Council 2003;National Health andMedical Research Council, Australian Research Council, andAustralian Vice Chancellor's Committee 2007 (updated May 2015); see also Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 2012). With these principles in mind, critical Indigenous studies scholars have advocated for the use of a 'strengths-based' rather than a 'vocabularies of deficit' approach when planning and conducting research concerning Indigenous peoples (Blagg 2008;Leeson, Smith and Rynne 2016). This entails focusing on how the program being studied supports and increases the strength, resilience and wellbeing of Indigenous communities, rather than simply assessing the extent to which Indigenous-focused programs may (or may not) reach benchmarks set by mainstream processes.…”