Walking the line between academic expectations and fulfilling obligations to the mob: Qualitative research processes for researching in Australian Aboriginal contexts

Research focusing on Australian Aboriginal people has a history of imposing colonising procedures that have been disrespectful to the people themselves and that are often incompatible with the Aboriginal psyche. This paper conveys some of the lessons learned by a student and supervisor through completing a qualitative Psychology Honours dissertation. This process started with collaboration with the Anangu and Bundjalung people and included ethical approval, decisions about data analysis and the written exposition. Researcher reflexivity and the role of the supervisor are also discussed. We learned that principled engagement with Aboriginal people focuses on respecting their stories, voices and lived experiences. For us, this involved placing sovereignty and relationship at the forefront and finding ways to compromise on the academic requirements. The result was that the unique knowledge that was obtained was not compromised and the trusting relationships between Anangu and Bundjalung people, the university, the student and supervisor were strengthened.