Summary
Most efforts at advancing research to be more inclusive focus on methods or methodologies or participation. Though helpful, those efforts have unfortunately not been sufficient for inclusion and we continue to be constrained by stronger forces which go to the root of what research means and the definition of inclusion. To be fully unconstrained and reach true inclusion we must learn to let go. Do we have the ability to do that? Let's talk about that. Join us for a half-hour of becoming undone, joyfully.
Key Insights
-
•
Diversity in research teams does not inherently guarantee inclusivity or counter systemic oppression.
-
•
Awareness of power and identity positionality often leads to feeling stuck without clear action steps.
-
•
Our ways of being deeply shape our epistemologies and methodologies in research.
-
•
Colonial Western ways of being emphasize objectification and individualism, limiting emancipatory knowledge production.
-
•
Indigenous knowledge systems, like those of the iBio people, view knowledge as relational and emergent from relationships.
-
•
Songs and oral traditions can serve as valid research methodologies tied to indigenous ways of knowing.
-
•
Systems of value influence which knowledge is considered legitimate or beneficial, often marginalizing community knowledge.
-
•
Immigrant communities bring preserved ways of being that produce measurable health and social benefits.
-
•
Positive deviance in communities reveals untapped local wisdom that can guide effective interventions.
-
•
Radical participatory research requires researchers to relinquish control and let communities define methods based on their own ways of being.
Notable Quotes
"If diversity alone made research inclusive, then police could never be anti-black because they include black officers."
"Whiteness isn’t about color; people of all colors can reinforce white supremacy."
"Awareness leads to feeling stuck because we don’t know what to do or don’t feel empowered to act."
"Our ways of being are roots that grow into ways of knowing, doing, and methods, all nourished by systems of value."
"In Western modernity, if something is not an object, it is not real research or real knowledge."
"For the iBio people, knowledge is relational, not objectified, emerging from relationships like songs."
"Songs become methodologies—the way you identify who is at the door is through the song they sing."
"Colonial ways of being, knowing, and valuing will never produce emancipatory methodologies."
"Community-rooted wisdom like the Mexican 'guana' practice reduces postpartum depression without traditional research."
"Will you learn to let go? Better yet, will you let go?"
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The panels help researchers test assumptions, check cultural sensitivities, and quickly iterate globally."
Wyatt HaymanGlobal Research Panels
August 8, 2020
"If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it."
Zariah CameronReDesigning Wellbeing for Equitable Care in the Workplace
September 23, 2024
"Researchers must be shapers of AI technology and not simply users of it."
Christopher GeisonTheme 1 Intro
March 25, 2024
"Dunbar's number explains why groups around 150 people work best as communities."
James LangIf you can design an app, you can design a community
May 22, 2025
"Seb is career UXer fresh at Canadian railways with a steep learning curve."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 1: Intro
January 8, 2024
"Backcast from preferred or risky futures to start thinking about what we need to do today to get there or avoid that outcome."
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"People become incrementally more comfortable giving away data because they see the value AI provides."
Heidi TrostWhen AI Becomes the User’s Point Person—and Point of Failure
August 7, 2025
"For many organizations, research is really not embedded completely and consistently into the development process."
Caroline VizeThe State of UX: Five Lessons from 2021 to Accelerate Digital Experience in 2022
March 9, 2022
"Quantitative data boils complex situations down to single numbers that are easy to grasp and discuss."
Rima Campbell Amrit S BhachuIncrease Productivity and Drive Business Impact
September 24, 2024
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How can qualitative and quantitative approaches complement each other when investigating data errors?
In what ways can organizations use scaffolding to overcome bureaucratic constraints in service design?
What lessons from method acting can inspire more immersive and emotionally open design research practices?