Decolonizing Scoping Review Methodologies for Literature With, for, and by Indigenous Peoples and the African Diaspora: Dialoguing With the Tensions

Qual Health Res. 2018 Jan;28(2):175-188. doi: 10.1177/1049732317743237. Epub 2017 Nov 28.

Abstract

This article summarizes our deepened understanding of decolonizing research with, for, and by Indigenous peoples and peoples of African descent that emerged from conducting a scoping review of the methodological literature and reflecting on our review process. Although our review identified decolonizing methodologies as a promising approach, we questioned if our scoping review process engaged in decolonizing knowing. To unpack the epistemological tensions between decolonizing knowing and Western ways of doing scoping reviews, we engaged in individual and collective reflective processes- dialoguing with the tensions-moving from individual immersion in the literature to transformative dialogues among the team. In reflecting upon our tensions with the scoping review process, themes that emerged included (a) ontological/epistemological disjunctures, (b) tensions with concepts and language, and (c) relationships with the literature and beyond. This reflexive process provides valuable insight into ways in which review methods might be made a decolonizing research experience.

Keywords: Aboriginal people; African Americans; Canada; HIV/AIDS; critical methods; decolonizing methodologies; epistemology; knowledge synthesis; methodology; participatory action research (PAR); qualitative interpretive methods; scoping reviews.

MeSH terms

  • Black People / ethnology*
  • Canada
  • Cultural Characteristics
  • HIV Infections / ethnology
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American / ethnology*
  • Knowledge
  • Language
  • Qualitative Research*
  • Research Design*
  • Review Literature as Topic*