Connecting, Speaking, Listening: Toward an Ethics of Voice with/in Participatory Action Research

Abstract

Drawing on a participatory research project that brings together university based researchers and two classes of Aboriginal youth and their teachers for the purpose of researching health and wellness, we argue for an ethics of voice in qualitative research. Using participatory research methodologies and digital video technologies students plan and develop short educational films about issues of health and wellness. We exemplify the ethical issues in the presentation of student, teacher and researcher perspectives on what was learned through involvement in a project by incorporating the different voices and interests that comprise the project. An experimental form of representation is used to combine interview segments, fieldnotes and reflective writing so as to highlight the importance of voice in the construction and retelling of research outcomes. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0501260

Keywords

• participatory research
• ethics
• Aboriginal culture
• voice
• digital video