There is an increasing trend in Australian universities to provide professional development for supervisors of higher degree research (HDR) students (Whisker & Kiley, 2014). Concurrently there is also a move toward more structured research development programs for HDR candidates (McGagh et.al., 2016). Education in Indigenous research ethics for both these groups is essential if we are to ensure that research with Indigenous Australian peoples and communities is ethical. Particularly in relation to nonmaleficence and beneficence; key aspects underlined by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the National Health & Medical Research Council guidelines on Indigenous research. Although it is difficult to quantify, given the lack of an explicit research codes for much Indigenous research, even a cursory look at outcomes of major competitive grants schemes suggests that there is considerable research being undertaken in Indigenous communities by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) procedures provide both guidance to researchers and a buffer to communities through the mechanism of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘appendix’ which ensures that researchers address the key issues of harm, consent and benefit. However, the HRECs should not have sole responsibility in this area.

This is not to say that HRECs do not have a role in this area, but we suggest that HREC responsibility needs to be part an integrated educative framework of Indigenous research development for both HDR students, their supervisors and indeed any researcher undertaking Indigenous research (Trudgett, 2011, Trudgett et.al., 2016). We suggest that Graduate Research Schools and those responsible for education and ongoing development of supervisors and HDR students need to prioritise this area of research education. In our experience, this work is too often ad hoc and left to Indigenous academics who are, in some cases, called on to provide expert advice without appropriate recognition in terms of being a formal part of supervision teams or being part of their usual academic roles. While there continues to be significant under-representation of Indigenous academics working in Australian universities (Behrendt, et.al., 2012), the need for this advisory work can be frustrating for supervisors seeking advice from a limited pool and even more so, for Indigenous academics who are already burdened by considerable unrecognised work (Page & Asmar, 2008).

On a more positive note there are increasing numbers of more senior Indigenous academics who can contribute to this area of universities work. At our own institution, our team from the Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, regularly provide education for HDR students and their supervisors as part of the UTS Graduate Research School’s structured researcher development program. In the context of the ACOLA Review and the recent Universities Australian draft Indigenous Strategy (Universities Australia, 2016) which indicates that universities should take steps to increase the numbers of Indigenous HDR students, the need for improved capacity in Indigenous research and ethics is clear. It is imperative that Graduate Research Schools and those responsible for research training take steps to actively address this issue. To conclude, universities need to dedicate appropriate resources to the development of supervisors responsible for overseeing the candidature of Indigenous and non-Indigenous postgraduate students undertaking Indigenous research and avoid delegating such responsibility to their existing Indigenous staff without additional resources and acknowledgement.

References

Behrendt, L., Larkin, S., Griew, R., & Kelly, P. (2012). Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Final Report. Canberra: Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.

McGagh, J, Marsh, H, Western, M, Thomas, P, Hastings, A, Mihailova, M, Wenham, M (2016) Review of Australia’s Research Training System. Report for the Australian Council of Learned Academies, www.acola.org.au.

Page, S. & Asmar, C. (2008) ‘Beneath the teaching iceberg: Exposing the hidden support dimensions of Indigenous academic work.’ Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Vol 37S, pp. 109-117.

Trudgett, M. (2011). Western places, academic spaces and Indigenous faces: supervising Indigenous Australian postgraduate students. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(4), 389-399.

Trudgett, M., Page, S., & Harrison, N. (2016). Brilliant Minds: A Snapshot of Successful Indigenous Australian Doctoral Students. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 45(1), 70-79.

Universities Australia. (2016). Indigenous Strategy 2017 – 20120, Draft for consultation, November, 2016, circulated to universities, 17/11/16.

Wisker, G., & Kiley, M. (2014). Professional learning: lessons for supervision from doctoral examining. International Journal for Academic Development, 19(2), 125-138.

Contributors
Susan Page – Susan.page@uts.edu.au | CAIK profile
Michelle Trudgett – Michelle.trudgett@uts.edu.au | CAIK profile

Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney. http://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/centre-advancement-indigenous-knowledges

This post may be cited as:
Page S andTrudgett M. (2016, 25 November) Making Indigenous research ethics a compulsory facet of supervisor development and student training. Research Ethics Monthly. Retrieved from: https://ahrecs.com/human-research-ethics/making-indigenous-research-ethics-compulsory-facet-supervisor-development-student-training