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7.2 Problems Of methodology specific to the study of Aboriginal people
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Since the research is concerned with ’real life', 'lived life',
and since different models of Aboriginal society have been posited, it
must be expected that any attempt to understand these different ’worlds'
will have to use a variety of methodologies for different situations,
recognising that some approaches used with urban people will be
inappropriate for tradition-oriented people.
Methods used to come to an understanding of the social reality
of tradition-oriented Aborigines will have to differ from those used
with urban Aborigines, both because of the level of command of English
on the part of Aboriginal people and the researcher's lack of command
of any Aboriginal language, and because of the cultural differences in
world view. It is bizarre in the extreme to conceive of survey
methods being used for tradition-oriented people.
The use of survey methods presupposes a type of mentality
foreign to tradition-oriented people and their way of thinking
(cf. Harris, 1977,passim) .
Even the notion of co-operation in a generalized way is foreign
to tradition-oriented people. Kin relationships define co-operative
responses in specified situations.
Techniques involving the observation of behaviour of tradition-
oriented people are limited. Even for a person living and working with
Aborigines, visits to camps are not encouraged, except for specific
reasons; such visits are governed by protocol.
Furthermore, among the Aboriginal group there are those who
have the 'right' to knowledge. Thus while something the researcher
wishes to ascertain may be common knowledge, in general, knowledge
belongs to those who have the 'right' to it and the right to communicate
it. Those who have this right may not necessarily see any point
in 'co-operating'.
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