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Research integrity

A guide outlining Library support available to Researchers and Higher Degree by Research students on aspects of research integrity.

Getting started

Do you know what country you live and work on?  Visit AIATSIS to explore a Map of Indigenous Australia representing language groups across the continent. An understanding of your local context is critical to good engagement with Indigenous knowledge.

Researchers from other diverse cultures need to stop conducting research ‘on’ First Nations communities and instead work ‘with’ them to gain knowledge. The following article published in The Conversation explains how researchers from other diverse cultures can best establish relationships with First Nations people when conducting research in their communities.

Ethics and guidelines

AIATSIS

The AIATSIS Act (1989) mandates the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) to provide leadership in the field of ethics and protocols for research related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and collections.

NHMRC

Australia Council for the Arts

Indigenous Evaluation Strategy

Lowitja Institute

CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance

The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance guide appropriate use and reuse of Indigenous data. This set of principles indicates the significant and crucial role of data in advancing Indigenous innovation and self-determination.

Collective benefit

Data ecosystems should 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 should be empowered. Indigenous data governance enables Indigenous Peoples to determine how they are represented within data.

Responsibility

Those working with Indigenous data have a responsibility to share how this data is used to support Indigenous Peoples' self-determination and collective benefit.

Ethics

Indigenous Peoples' rights and wellbeing should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle.

Indigenous data sovereignty

Acknowledgement and citation

"Indigenous peoples’ rights are, by definition, collective rights… The international community clearly affirms that Indigenous peoples require recognition of their collective rights as peoples to enable them to enjoy human rights" (United Nations, 2013, p. 7).

Reference

United Nations. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. (2013). Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Human Rights System fact sheet No.9/Rev.2. https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-no-09-rev-2-indigenous-people-and-united-nations-human-rights


Academic citation styles generally fit within Western understanding of knowledge creation, and privilege individual or corporate ownership of intellectual property.  First Nations people may prioritise collective ownership of knowledge - Nation, Clan, Language Group or Community may therefore need acknowledgement as well, as or instead, of individuals.

There are no universally accepted guidelines so always seek consultation with First Nations individuals or groups you are referencing for their preferred forms of acknowledgement.  The following resources might get you started, but they are not definitive.