Catherine Fetherston

One of the most challenging aspects of any qualitative research study is building successful relationships between participants and researchers. This challenge is made more difficult when those participants and researchers belong to discrete cultural groups that do not necessarily share the same individual or worldviews. This is the case, for instance, when health authorities seek to promote their version of health and wellbeing amongst Indigenous Australians. Overcoming barriers associated with such a potential variance in cultural beliefs and values can be approached using ethnographic action research (EAR). This approach combines the methodologies of ethnography, participatory techniques and action research (Tacchi, Slater, & Hearn, 2003), where the EAR becomes an integral part of a project that is relevant to a particular community. EAR then acts as a means of understanding the community’s needs as the project is developed and evaluated within the context of that community’s beliefs, values, and aspirations.