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
"Avoid leading questions and adjectives so participants use their own words and reveal true values and feelings about money."
Yasmine KhanChecking Bias and Listening to Financially Vulnerable Americans
March 30, 2020
"We needed a framework to know what we don’t know and prioritize secondary inclusive research."
Saara Kamppari-MillerInclusive Design is DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"You don’t want to wait for permission. If you see something valuable, start doing it and demonstrate its worth."
James LangHopeful Futures for UX Research
January 30, 2026
"Designers often don’t realize they themselves are providing services and selling a promise of value."
Shreya Dhawan Victor Udoewa Xènia Viladas Florian VollmerMaking service tangible: the fastest path to higher performance
November 19, 2025
"Design Ops is fundamentally a servant leadership role—guts, no glory, always supporting."
Jacqui FreyScale is Social Work
March 19, 2020
"A key metric for a successful design system is how early the design system team is invited into project conversations."
Dan Mall“Ask Me Anything” with Dan Mall, Author of Upcoming Rosenfeld Title, Design that Scales
October 2, 2023
"As we grow, it becomes difficult for everyone to deeply engage with research or remain close to users."
Sean Fitzell Sarah Han Kayla FarrellCraft of User Research: Building Out Jobs to be Done Maps
March 12, 2021
"We have to use the right methods and frameworks because design controls the world, and it must represent our ideals."
Alba VillamilStereotyped by Design: Pitfalls in Cross-Cultural User Research
March 30, 2020
"Those fishermen didn’t want political news—they wanted reliable weather forecasts to stay safe at sea."
Patrick BoehlerFishing for Real Needs: Reimagining Journalism Needs with AI
June 10, 2025