{"title":"Using positionality and reflexivity to support equity in partnership-driven research","authors":"Rachael Cadman, Alanna Syliboy, Michelle Saunders, Shelley Denny, Mary Denniston, Eleanor Barry, Breanna Bishop, Shannon Landovskis, Megan Bailey","doi":"10.1111/cobi.14396","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Social and economic position and power shape everyone, including scientists and researchers. The way researchers do conservation science and the voices centered in the process are a result of researcher upbringing, experiences, access to resources, and values and are a manifestation of positionality. Positionality is a concept that can help one think about one's position and power in one's work. Creating a successful research partnership requires careful thinking about how equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility are accounted for in the research environment. We drew on our own experiences as early career, mid-career, and Indigenous researchers to explore researcher positionality and how understanding one's positionality can bring to the fore power dynamics in conservation science and research. We focused on the use of reflexive practice to recognize diverse roles and responsibilities, build strong project governance, and enrich relationships. We considered 2 large research partnerships, Apoqnmatulti'k (Mi'kmaw for <i>we help each other</i>) and the SakKijânginnaniattut Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit (Inuttitut for <i>Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures</i>) project, to examine moments of tension and interrogation of power and the ways in which this interrogation led to stronger relationships and better research. We advise that large transdisciplinary and cross-cultural research teams use positionality and reflexivity to explicitly make choices about power dynamics in the context of executing partnership-driven work. This can be accomplished through personal and collective interrogation of the power dynamics at play in project administration, research questions, and interpersonal relationships.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":"38 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cobi.14396","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Conservation Biology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.14396","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Social and economic position and power shape everyone, including scientists and researchers. The way researchers do conservation science and the voices centered in the process are a result of researcher upbringing, experiences, access to resources, and values and are a manifestation of positionality. Positionality is a concept that can help one think about one's position and power in one's work. Creating a successful research partnership requires careful thinking about how equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility are accounted for in the research environment. We drew on our own experiences as early career, mid-career, and Indigenous researchers to explore researcher positionality and how understanding one's positionality can bring to the fore power dynamics in conservation science and research. We focused on the use of reflexive practice to recognize diverse roles and responsibilities, build strong project governance, and enrich relationships. We considered 2 large research partnerships, Apoqnmatulti'k (Mi'kmaw for we help each other) and the SakKijânginnaniattut Nunatsiavut Sivunitsangit (Inuttitut for Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures) project, to examine moments of tension and interrogation of power and the ways in which this interrogation led to stronger relationships and better research. We advise that large transdisciplinary and cross-cultural research teams use positionality and reflexivity to explicitly make choices about power dynamics in the context of executing partnership-driven work. This can be accomplished through personal and collective interrogation of the power dynamics at play in project administration, research questions, and interpersonal relationships.
期刊介绍:
Conservation Biology welcomes submissions that address the science and practice of conserving Earth's biological diversity. We encourage submissions that emphasize issues germane to any of Earth''s ecosystems or geographic regions and that apply diverse approaches to analyses and problem solving. Nevertheless, manuscripts with relevance to conservation that transcend the particular ecosystem, species, or situation described will be prioritized for publication.