Topic outline

  • Example 7: How important is utilising First Nations knowledge in South Australia's response to climate change?

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    What is the question asking?

    This question seeks to understand the ways in which utilising First Nations knowledge can be important to how South Australia responds to climate change. This question is specific in several ways.

    Firstly, it is asking about the effects pertaining to a particular location: South Australia. This question is geographically specific and as such, research on this topic must be relevant to this area.

    Secondly, it is asking you to research the knowledge First Nations people hold regarding the environment and climate. Keep in mind that South Australia is home to over 30 Aboriginal groups, with distinct beliefs, cultural practices and languages.

    Finally, it is asking you to identify the importance of using First Nations knowledge in how society, the government, and environmental bodies respond to climate change factors.

    Currently, UniSA  is conducting research around Aboriginal medicinal plants. While this may not directly overlap with your research question, there may be someone who can help.


    Ethical considerations

    There are several ethical considerations to keep in mind while completing this research:

    • Ensure that the materials and information you provide to any First Nations participants are culturally sensitive, and that you are using their participation in a respectful and considerate way. You will need to research what this means in relation to the particular First Nations people you’re corresponding with.

      For example, in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, seeing images or hearing recordings of deceased persons may cause sadness, distress, and offence.
    • Ensure that participants are voluntarily participating in the research and know that they have the right to withdraw.
    • Ensure participants understand what is expected of them during this process and how their data will be used so they can make informed choices about their participation.
    • Utilise the data you collect with respect, this means paraphrasing and quoting honestly.
    • Ensure that you are storing all research data securely, such as participant questions and responses which may be sensitive and should be kept confidentially.

     

    Research Methods

    What research methods should we use to answer this question?


    Interview

    Some ideas for sources we could contact are:

    • A local Aboriginal Elder or representative
    • A researcher specialising in climate change


    Literature Review

    Some ideas for how we could do this are:

    • Reading journal articles
    • Watching documentaries or presentations by experts
    • Listening to podcasts
    • Reading books


    Data analysis

    We've collected some data, what next? 

    As the data that we have collected is varied, there are multiple methods of analysis that we will need to do. With the qualitative data, that which is non-numerical, it's ideal that we use qualitative analysis for this. 


    What else should we be considering? Two important criteria in the Research Project are validity and reliability. You can ask these questions of each of your sources. 

    Validity

    In research, validity relates to how well the research measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity can be divided into two groups: internal validity and external validity. Internal validity determines if the research findings match reality, while external validity determines whether the research can be replicated in another environment.

    For example, if you are seeking to understand the importance of First Nations knowledge being applied to climate change, you can't limit your research to just interviewing climate change researchers and fail to include any specialists in First Nations environmental knowledge. This research has low validity.

    Questions to ask of your sources:

    • Does the research measure what it claims to measure?
    • Can the findings be applied to my research question?
    • Who conducted the study / research?
    • Can these results be reproduced?
    • Is the sample size / response rate sufficient?

     

    Reliability

    In research, reliability refers to the degree to which research produces consistent results. There are three sorts of reliability in research: test-retest reliability (does the research produce the same or similar results every time?), internal consistency (is the research measuring what it is supposed to measure?), and inter-rater reliability (do all researchers get the same or similar results?). 

    For example, if research is undertaken that excludes a group of people to which the initial question pertains, it can be considered biased and unreliable. If you are seeking to understand the importance of First Nations knowledge being applied to climate change, but only interview non-Indigenous participants, your research will be biased and unreliable.


    Questions to ask of your sources:

    • Where did we find this source?
    • Who conducted the study / research?
    • Who funded the study / research?
    • Is it an expert source?
    • Has it been peer reviewed?
    • Is the source biased towards someone's opinion? 

     

    Sample resources

    Here are some sample resources we can use for our research:

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