Trusting and discomfort: a perspective on collaborating in decolonizing participatory research
Trusting and discomfort: a perspective on collaborating in decolonizing participatory research
This paper speaks to debates about decolonising research and Indigenous methodologies. I draw on the epistemological and methodological decolonising process of The Tipuna Project as a means of conducting decolonising research that has transformative, reparative intent and protective practice at its core. In particular, I unpack and explore elements of trusting and discomfort for non-Indigenous researchers working in partnership with Indigenous researchers and/or communities. I highlight relational accountability as a meaningful Indigenous way of being in the world and implications for trusting as an ongoing process. I argue that it is also, necessarily, a discomforting process given the enduring nature and ramping up of colonial power relations in academia and research.
Indigenous methodologies, decolonising research, discomfort, trusting
Edwards, Rosalind
e43912c0-f149-4457-81a9-9c4e00a4bb42
Edwards, Rosalind
e43912c0-f149-4457-81a9-9c4e00a4bb42
Edwards, Rosalind
(2026)
Trusting and discomfort: a perspective on collaborating in decolonizing participatory research.
Qualitative Inquiry.
(doi:10.1177/10778004251415000).
Abstract
This paper speaks to debates about decolonising research and Indigenous methodologies. I draw on the epistemological and methodological decolonising process of The Tipuna Project as a means of conducting decolonising research that has transformative, reparative intent and protective practice at its core. In particular, I unpack and explore elements of trusting and discomfort for non-Indigenous researchers working in partnership with Indigenous researchers and/or communities. I highlight relational accountability as a meaningful Indigenous way of being in the world and implications for trusting as an ongoing process. I argue that it is also, necessarily, a discomforting process given the enduring nature and ramping up of colonial power relations in academia and research.
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TRUST&DISCOMFORTdeanonymisedQIrev1
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edwards-2026-trusting-and-discomfort-a-perspective-on-collaborating-in-decolonizing-participatory-research
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Accepted/In Press date: 19 December 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 January 2026
Keywords:
Indigenous methodologies, decolonising research, discomfort, trusting
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Local EPrints ID: 508831
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508831
ISSN: 1077-8004
PURE UUID: 802cda55-6f59-4cc8-8225-bb5a5a6a80a0
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Date deposited: 04 Feb 2026 17:44
Last modified: 05 Feb 2026 02:43
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