Abstract This paper critically interrogates the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) as ‘research ethics’ within the context of contemporary university-based social science research. While IRBs are ostensibly tasked with safeguarding ethical standards and participant welfare, I posit that they often reduce ethics to a perfunctory exercise as a move to innocence, serving as mechanisms […]
As a visual qualitative researcher, I believe in the value of methods that include images, such as photos, in the production and interpretation of knowledge (Glaw, Inder, Kable, & Hazelton, 2017). Photovoice in particular—a participatory visual qualitative method in which people take pictures to identify, discuss, and address their challenges (Wang & Burris, 1997)—changed my […]
Christopher G Kemp and colleagues1 offer seven principles for decolonising implementation science grounded in Indigenous leadership from the USA, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Australia. Writing from southeast Asia, we welcome their discussion on sovereignty, relational accountability, and community-defined evidence. However, we are compelled to raise a concern—treating one colonial configuration as a universal template risks reinstating […]
Photovoice is often conceptualised separately from the broader agenda to decolonise methodologies. To address this conceptual problem, this paper critically examines the academic literature on both photovoice and decolonising methodologies. Drawing from insights from decolonising scholarship, it proposes a conceptual framework consisting of three interconnected principles to decolonise photovoice practice. Principle one involves cultivating a […]
In the past decade, the global health community has recognized and increasingly challenged unfair knowledge practices to address epistemic injustice within the field. Bhakuni and Abimbola frame epistemic injustice as “pervasive wrongs related to knowledge production, use, and circulation in global health.” Structural barriers within academic publishing have resulted in perpetuating harmful power hierarchies in […]
Traditionally, the academic community has prioritized the academic value of research over its social impact and relevance. About a decade ago, a study estimated that up to 85% of biomedical research was avoidably wasted. This study highlighted that a key factor contributing to research waste was the limited utility and relevance of research for interest-holders, […]
Abstract Abstract Background Many engineering education researchers acknowledge that their positionality impacts their research. Practices for reporting positionality vary widely and rarely incorporate a nuanced discussion of the impact of demographic identities on research. Researchers holding marginalized or relatively hidden identities must navigate additional layers regarding transparency of their positionality. Purpose We identify ways in […]
Abstract Reflexivity is often framed in qualitative research as a means of enhancing methodological rigour and research quality. However, less attention has been paid to whether research that meets such standards is also ethically responsive to the needs of participants and communities. In this paper, I examine the role of reflexivity in advancing ethical research […]
In recent years, positionality/reflexivity statements have become increasingly common in global health, qualitative health research, and bioethics. Often framed as practices of reflexivity, recently they are also taken up as part of decolonial projects. Yet their growing prevalence invites a critical pause. I argue that thin positionality statements can function less as transformative practices and […]
Abstract Scientists have begun using AI agents in tasks such as reviewing the published literature, formulating hypotheses and subjecting them to virtual tests, modeling complex phenomena, and conducting experiments. Although AI agents are likely to enhance the productivity and efficiency of scientific inquiry, their deployment also creates risks for the research enterprise and society, including […]