Talking Ourselves UP

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of talk and its place within kaupapa Māori research. Just as many Māori occasions rely on talk1 to define context and kaupapa, so do research and principles often seek to represent the talk of participants as defining their context and their kaupapa. Within these research processes there are ample opportunities for participants to be both marginalised and/or (re)victimised. The care taken within what has become a popular way of gathering research data, talking to people, rests on a researcher's skills as an interviewer as well as their intrinsic interest in people. This paper therefore examines some of the issues both researchers and participants need to be aware of, with a particular focus on qualitative research that is conducted within a kaupapa Māori framework.