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
"At Sage Sure, we build paved roads so people can choose to drive on them or carve their own path."
Rachael Greene Alison DavisBuilding a Design Ops Practice that Really Works (Most of the Time)
October 2, 2025
"Even teams with dedicated designers sometimes have gaps because designers get pulled to other priorities."
Audrey CraneShadow Design–Where Else is Design Happening in Your Organization?
April 20, 2023
"GPT-4 functioned as an assistant not just in retagging but also in improving the taxonomy itself."
Jorge Arango[Demo] How to re-categorize content at scale using LLMs
June 5, 2024
"My job wasn’t to do good IA, it was figuring out how to be allowed to do good IA."
Sarah BarrettThe "How" of Enterprise Information Architecture
June 6, 2023
"Concept Desirability Scores take about eight days and can replace months of traditional research for early risk identification."
Todd Healy Jess GrecoDriving Change with CX Metrics
June 7, 2023
"Nudges are not a magic wand; they can help but need to fit within a larger system and behavioral pathway to truly work."
Amy BucherHarnessing behavioral science to uncover deeper truths
March 12, 2025
"A service must not unnecessarily expose a user to the internal structures of the organization providing the service."
Kristin TaylorBuilding Bridges Across Organizational Silos
November 18, 2022
"There’s no perfect truth or solution; it’s about negotiation and deciding what’s good enough for the stakeholders we serve."
Mohammad Hossein JarrahiContextuality problem: Exploring the Benefits of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
January 20, 2023
"Completion rates (conversion rates) and dropout rates are simple metrics but often not tracked or shared."
Caroline JarrettGarbage in, garbage out? Measuring error rates to get ready for AI
January 8, 2026