Academic Journal

Applying whakapapa research methodology in Māori kin communities in Aotearoa New Zealand

Bibliographic Details
Title: Applying whakapapa research methodology in Māori kin communities in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Merata Kawharu, Paul Tapsell, Paratene Tane
Source: Kōtuitui, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 65-85 (2024)
Subject Terms: Māori community research, whakapapa, Indigenous research methods, mātauranga, community-based research, Kaupapa Māori research, Social Sciences
Publisher Information: Taylor & Francis Group, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Social Sciences
Description: ABSTRACTIndigenous research methods centralises the importance of Indigenous ways of researching, validating and interpreting knowledge. In Māori kin-community (kāinga) contexts this methodology is called whakapapa. It is an ethical approach to research. Through three kāinga case studies, our article explores whakapapa methodology as an expression of Kaupapa Māori research. We explore the importance of co-productive relationships or whanaungatanga; co-design and co-development, or kotahitanga; ethics procedures or tikanga; accountability to community or utu; and kin narratives or kōrero as a genealogically-ordered methodology of engaging kāinga and hearing their stories or views, compared to formal interviews. In relation to the research teams and kāinga, we also discuss two intersecting values, which we call the mana/manaakitanga dynamic. It is a widely accepted dualism in Māori society. Mana concerns ancestrally-framed authority based on descent, providing specialist views and perspectives, while manaakitanga concerns service through kinship, not least respect and consideration of others’ interests. Given their centrality to shaping genealogically-prescribed behaviours, we show how they apply in research contexts amongst researchers, who are not just ‘included’, but who also become engaged participants in overall kāinga-led and kāinga-owned outcomes. We conclude by discussing how whakapapa methodology can help shape institutional ethics and help address grand challenges.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1177083X
1177-083X
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1177-083X
DOI: 10.1080/1177083X.2023.2227232
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/63adc9b798b0486bb88d441713711680
Accession Number: edsdoj.63adc9b798b0486bb88d441713711680
ISSN: 1177083X
DOI: 10.1080/1177083X.2023.2227232
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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