Statement of purpose

Background

Overview

• Principles and areas
  • Contracting
  • Ethics
  • Pacific Peoples
  • Maori
    • Respect
    • Integrity
    • Responsiveness
    • Competency
    • Reciprocity

Context

Launch of Good Practice guidelines quality research workshop

Acknowledgements

Applying the Principle of Respect to research and evaluation involving Māori

To ensure the research process involving Māori is respectful, officials should:

• Recognise that respect is a process often based on knowledge and understanding of relationships.

… I saw these two brothers speak on a marae, and I watched how they did it.  It was done with the utmost respect for one another, their whānau and the people at the marae (they were on the manuhiri side). One was the tuakana; the other was the teina, but the process they went through was just as important as the actual act. Within the process was mana, wairua, whakapapa, aroha and tikanga. Respect is the process that you go through, rather than the actual act of what you do, and it's the understanding of that process.  What you do is important - understanding why you do it is even more so. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

• Understand that respect means not trampling on people's pride, feelings or ideas and ensuring different perspectives are considered.

… I was working with a senior researcher, (well-known in some circles, but known at times as a tyrant in other circles). We were running late, trying to compile a draft report and send information out for an advisory group meeting the following week. The senior researcher told us we had no mana for being behind time. Our dilemma was that we did not agree to her approach to the research design, as we were dealing with our people, our reo and our tikanga. That day it was her mana (respect) that was diminished. In the end our advisory group played a huge role in designing the research project. Respect within a research process can be comprised when driven by single, non-inclusive, agenda. Disrespectful behaviour can impact on everyone involved in the research, both researchers and participants. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

• Use the project-planning and contracting phases to identify the appropriate protocols that need to be observed during engagement with Māori participants and stakeholders now and in the future.

With whole population surveys, it may be sufficient to consult agencies such as Te Puni Kōkiri and include competent experienced people on the project advisory group. For a project involving Māori within a particular geographical area as participants, the researcher should always contact local Māori representative organisations. The Health Research Council has developed Guidelines for Conducting Research with Māori which may be useful.

• Ensure that the budget for the project is adequate and includes sufficient resources for consultation, reciprocity, compensation for contribution/ participation and feedback. 
• Involve Māori participants (whānau, hapū, iwi and community organisations) as early as possible in the designing of research that will impact on them and their communities.
• Allow sufficient time to consult with whānau, hapū, iwi and community organisations and be aware of the competing demands and priorities of stakeholders and participants.
• Recognise that respect in theory can differ from respect in practice and can be compromised by the things we do or say.

… If only we could turn back the clock and not engage that researcher! On paper the credentials and experience looked fine; a good match with the provider seemed guaranteed. However, little did we know that the researcher had another agenda and was mainly interested in getting across their own personal views and bug bears they had with the particular provider and our evaluation process. So in a respectful way we met to discuss the concerns the researcher had. We listened and talked about how we could move forward and went away from that meeting with what we thought was a shared pathway forward. However, it turned out that the issue was not settled for the researcher and within a few days the email traffic ran hot and things had escalated. There was potential impact on the provider as well as the risks to the reputation of our organisation. You can deal with someone in a respectful manner, but that doesn't mean they will act respectfully in return. (ANZEA Hui August 2007)

… I attended the opening of [name] Marae. A well-known Māori dignitary, when entering the whare, didn't take his shoes off at the door.  He told my Dad later that the Queen [of England] doesn't take her shoes off for anyone, and because he was a representative of the Queen, he wasn't going to either. Everybody else did, but he didn't. He lost the respect of everyone attached to the marae.  Everybody noticed, everybody pointed, nobody gave two hoots that he was a well-known dignitary. There are two points of note around that; one was that he took off his korowai Māori and two, he thought having the Queen's korowai was going to give him more respect, but it had the opposite effect. Respect is about following local etiquette, no matter what position you hold."  (ANZEA Hui August 2007)