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
"Intuition is the ability to see a connection so important that you could build a system out of it."
Richard BuchananCreativity and Principles in the Flourishing Enterprise
June 15, 2018
"If you put garbage in, garbage comes out – AI reflects the biases in its training data."
Nancy DouyonWe'll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech's Nobility Complex
June 15, 2018
"It’s strange that despite all our technology, we’re still struggling to bring design and code closer together."
Steve TurbekDesigning Interactive Graphics with AI Code Help
February 5, 2026
"Emotional responses to research participants are human but must be balanced with maintaining professional boundaries."
Jane Reid Janice HannawaySelf-care in User Research
April 2, 2020
"Throwing away old methods for something new can unlock skills you didn’t know you had."
John DonmoyerShipping your code generation experiments to production
June 11, 2025
"I was no longer a point person in recruiting or shaping the team, but that was okay."
Edward CuppsThe Principal Path: Journeying from Management to Individual Contributor
June 11, 2021
"Arnstein’s ladder reduces participation to delegating decision-making power, ignoring goals like safety, well-being, and satisfaction."
Sarah FathallahA Typology of Participation in Participatory Research
March 28, 2023
"The first year federal incentives ended, the market changed completely; buyers started listening to end users more."
Chris MosesStretching the Definition of DesignOps with Product Development
November 7, 2018
"Bad news does not improve with age. As soon as you get a whiff that something isn’t right, jump and fix it."
Jessamyn EdwardsSurviving Your UX Career in Enterprise Design
December 2, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How can service design approaches support innovation decision-making in large public sector institutions like the OECD?
How did attending a women design leadership retreat influence Mary Lynn’s career transition?
Why are job titles considered lagging indicators, and what does this imply for UX researchers today?