Rethinking Research
Description
This groundbreaking volume demands a fundamental rethinking of how research is conducted with-and accountable to-communities. Moving beyond institutional compliance and procedural checklists, the work calls for an ethics grounded in responsibility, reciprocity, and knowledge sovereignty, challenging researchers to reimagine their relationships with research participants and communities.
Bringing together Indigenous, Black, immigrant, and land-based perspectives, the contributors confront the colonial and extractive logics that continue to shape mainstream research ethics. They advocate for relational accountability, continuous consent, and shared decision-making as essential foundations for just and transformative scholarship. Through personal decolonization narratives, critiques of institutional ethics boards, and practical frameworks for community-led governance, this book equips scholars, community organizers, and policymakers with concrete strategies to dismantle power imbalances and foster equitable research partnerships.
Essential reading for anyone committed to research as a tool for justice rather than extraction, Rethinking Research offers a radical vision of scholarship that centers community voices and collective well-being.
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Persons
Ranjan Datta, PhD, Canada Research Chair at Mount Royal University specializing in Indigenous land rights, community-led disaster research, and decolonial environmental governance.
Jean Kayira, PhD, Associate Professor at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, specializing in Indigenous knowledge systems, land-based education, and decolonizing climate adaptation research.
Myrle Ballard, PhD, Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor at University of Calgary, advancing Indigenous science and sustainability through Three-Eyed Seeing and environmental justice advocacy.
Jebunnessa Chapola, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary focusing on decolonial feminist research, anti-racism, and women-led climate adaptation and community empowerment.
Yvonne Vizina, PhD, Associate Professor at University of Winnipeg, researching Indigenous sustainability and integrating traditional knowledge into education systems. Yvonne was awarded the UWinnipeg Indigenous Research Excellence Chair in 2026.
Rani Muthukrishnan, PhD, Researcher in traditional sciences and Director of Research Compliance at Texas A&M University San Antonio, with expertise in ecoliteracy and human-nature interactions.
Tanvir Turin Chowdhury, PhD, Associate Professor at University of Calgary focusing on equity-centered, community-based research addressing health disparities among racialized and immigrant populations.
Content
About the Editors Notes on Contributors Chapter 1: Rethinking Responsibilities in Community-Based Research Part I: From Ethics to Responsibility: Reframing the Foundations Chapter 2: Ethical Relationalities in Engineering: A Participatory Inquiry into Accountability By Lori Bradford Chapter 3: Reflective Decolonial Dialogues as Catalysts for Transformative Change: Learning from Cree First Nation Community-Led Cultural Camps By Ranjan Datta, Jean Kayira, Emdad Haque, Nausheen Sadiq, Jebunnessa Chapola, C. Emdad Haque, Somashree Chattapadhya, Prarthona Datta, Prokriti Datta Chapter 4: Ethical Dimensions of Climate Action Research in the Arctic By Maria Båld Part II: Relational Practice, Governance, and Decolonial Environmental Justice Chapter 5: Colonial Legacies and the Inaccessibility of Urban Green Spaces in Dhaka City: Pathways to Environmental Justice through Decolonising Research Ethics and Green Space Governance Practice By Md Badrul Hyder and Tavir Turin Chowdhury Chapter 6: Carceral Ecologies and Indigenous Resistance in the Global North and Global South: Decolonizing Environmental Justice Research in the Prison System By Mohammed Jahirul Islam and Md. Lab Hossain Chapter 7: Ethical Research Relationships Through Umunthu: A Case Study from Kasungu National Park, Malawi By Jean Kayira, Matias Elisa, Reuben Chikuni, Ndaona Kumanga, and Leonard Moyo Part III: Indigenous Sovereignty, Embodied Knowledge, and Living Traditions Chapter 8: Reclaiming Apara Vidya as Transformational Research: Advaita, Embodied Wisdom, and the Silencing of Living Traditions By Rani Muthukrishnan Chapter 9: Land-Based Spiritual Music as a Ceremonial Research Journey By Rita Karmakar Chapter 10: Wombs of the World: Reckoning with Colonial Medicine, Remembering Feminist Futures By Abhinya Gulasingam, Erika Arteaga-Cruz, Jennie Joseph & Thirusha Naidu Part IV: Anti-Racist Research, Institutional Transformation, and Democratizing Governance Chapter 11: Democratizing Community-Engaged Research: From Bottlenecks to Belonging in Access, Capability, Voice, and Trust & Integrity By Tanvir Turin Chowdhury, Nashit Chowdhury, Viana Farzaneh, Mohammad Mojammel Hussain Raihan, Irfan Hyder, Ranjan Datta Chapter 12: Decolonizing Research Methodology with Racialized Communities: Applying Principles to Practice through a Reflective Audit Framework By Tanvir Turin Chowdhury, Nashit Chowdhury, Viana Farzaneh, Mohammad Mojammel Hussain Raihan, Irfan Hyder, Ranjan Datta Chapter 13: Achieving Accountable Research Approaches through Ethical Understanding By Katie Sand Part V: Climate, Healing, and More-than-Human Responsibility Chapter 14: Emerging After the Flood: A Personal Journey of Decolonization, Healing, and Responsibility in Research By Samantha A. Ruby Chapter 15: Two French theorists on imperialism: An Australian Indigenous criticism of Foucault and Frémeaux By Jesse J. Fleay Conclusion Index