Purpose
SSHRC has developed these guidelines to ensure that the merit review of Indigenous research upholds SSHRC’s principles for merit review. These guidelines are intended to supplement the SSHRC Manual for Adjudication Committee Members, but might also be used by applicants, external reviewers and the postsecondary institutions and partnering organizations that support Indigenous research.
Context
Indigenous research is defined under the Definitions of Terms on SSHRC’s website.
Since the early 2000s, SSHRC has promoted research by and with Indigenous peoples, having recognized its potential to increase knowledge and understanding about human thought and behaviour, past and present, and to help create a better future.
The Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research further ensure that Indigenous research incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems (including ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies) is recognized as a scholarly contribution and meets SSHRC’s standards of excellence. The guidelines are also designed to encourage that Indigenous research be conducted with sensitivity, and only after consideration about who conducts the research and why and how it is conducted. The guidelines complement information contained in the second edition of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2), and, in particular, Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.
For more information, please refer to the SSHRC website.