Introduction: Power and Privilege in Research
This module is focused on issues surrounding the operation of power and privilege in research. The module gathers a set of resources intended to introduce you to key concepts of privilege, equity, and unconscious bias. To help you connect these concepts to the world of research, the module concludes with a discussion of Community Based Research as one example of research approaches that try to shift the dynamics of power and privilege in research relationships.
As you work through these resources, think about how issues surrounding power and privilege occur in research. What does privilege mean in a research context? How can more inclusive research practices be used by researchers, and what might the outcomes be?
Privilege
The principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion invite us to consider how different individuals and groups experience the world differently. The concept of privilege is key to understanding how we are advantaged or disadvantaged socially, economically, and politically in relation to others.
This video, “What is Privilege?” presented by Buzzfeed (2015), features an interactive activity that helps people understand and recognize identities and privilege. The video helps us to think about the ways that people engage with and are affected by their own privileges. As you watch the video, consider what stands out to you about the participants. What might the implications of this activity be for research practices?
As/Is by BuzzFeed, “What is Privilege?” 4 July 2015 (3:59)
The operation of privilege means that “people in marginalized communities may not have the same opportunities, influence, or power to have their voices heard” (Trent Community Research Centre, 2019). In the research context, privilege impacts the ability to participate in research in multiple ways.
This next resource, created by the Trent Community Research Centre at Trent University, explores the operation of power and privilege within a research context by highlighting ethical and effective ways of carrying out research in marginalized communities. The video discusses key barriers that can prevent people from participating in research, ways that researchers can make their research more inclusive, and why thinking about inclusion in research design and practice is essential.
Trent Community Research Centre, “Power…e in Research,” 28 January 2019 (3:39)
Key takeaways:
- It is hard and emotional work to understand your own privilege and to see your privilege in relation to others.
- Barriers to participating in and conducting research include social, economic, environmental and political challenges.
- The principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us”: decisions made regarding research approaches or policies should be made in collaboration with the people who are most affected by these decisions. Communities where research is conducted should decide how they benefit from the research and how it can be carried out best.
Equity vs. Equality
Many people use equality and equity interchangeably, but they mean different things. It is important to be able to distinguish between the two in order to understand the implications for a research context.
This video compares the two, discussing appropriate spaces and contexts for each concept.
Susan K. Gardner, Rising Tide Centre, “…ty and Equality,” 19 August 2019 (3:44)
If equality means that everyone gets the “same” (is treated the same, given the same resources and supports) it assumes that everyone has the same starting place. But we know that this is not true. Think back to the first video, “What is Privilege?” and recall where each participant was positioned by the end of the activity. Everyone has a different starting place, or social location.
These social locations are embedded in systems of privilege and oppression that are systemic, and beyond the individual. The following resource explains further:
Paul Kuttner, “The problem with that eq…graphic you’re using,” 1 November 2016
Key takeaways:
- Equity acknowledges that each person has different needs to help them succeed, based on their position and privileges in society.
- Equality means everyone gets the same support and resources to help them succeed the reality is that each person needs different things to succeed.
- Research participants will come from many different spaces and backgrounds, therefore must be treated equitably to support their needs and understand their positions.
- Equity ensures that people are given what they need to be able to fully participate in the research (as participants, on research teams, on research committees, or really anywhere in the research sphere) and feel comfortable doing so.
Unconscious Bias
Unconscious bias, also referred to as Implicit Bias, can be defined as prejudice or unsupported judgements in favour of or against one thing, person, or group, in a way that is usually considered unfair.
As a result of unconscious bias, certain people benefit, and others are penalized. Researchers suggest that unconscious bias occurs automatically as we make quick judgements based on past experiences and background.
Unconscious bias shapes the way we conduct research, and how researchers interact with one another and respond to each other’s work. The following resource is an Unconscious Bias Training Module from the federal Canada Research Chairs program, as part of their commitment to achieving a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive research environment in Canada. The module discusses how biases are formed, provides examples of explicit bias, and introduces how bias can be unconscious and intersectional.
Unconscious Bias Training Module
The following article from the Royal Society focuses on issues surrounding unconscious bias such as: how does unconscious bias manifest itself? Who is affected by unconscious bias? How can we identify unconscious bias?
This short TEDtalk video discusses everyday barriers and challenges that people encounter as a result of others unconscious biases. It looks at unconscious bias within a racial context, drawing attention to the high expulsion rates that African American and Latino students experience in comparison to White students. As you watch the video, think about the implications of the unconscious bias that is demonstrated and the long-term impacts of these biases.
TED Talks Live, “Unconscious Bias” 18 January 2017 (3:12)
Key takeaways:
- Everyone has unconscious bias. Recognizing it and mitigating it is our responsibility and is important work.
- Biases can be thought of as “shortcuts” formed based on information we take in as part of our everyday experiences (culture, social media, institutional context, etc.). These unconscious biases have a direct impact on our behaviour, thoughts, and feelings.
- Unconscious bias impacts our approaches to research topics and questions, and to other research collaborators and participants.
Mitigating Power and Privilege in Practice: Community Based Research
How do concepts of privilege, equity, and unconscious bias translate into research practice? This next section explores this further, highlighting Community Based Research (CBR) as an inclusive research practice that attempts to mitigate issues discussed in this module.
Community Based Research (CBR) is a research method that places community partnerships at the forefront. According to the Pacific AIDS Network, CBR is an approach to research that is: collaborative, respectful, inclusive, creates sustainable relationships, builds on existing strengths of the community, and promotes ethical research practices.
This short video from Trent University introduces Community Based Research and discusses how CBR can be distinguished from traditional research methods.
Trent Community Research Centre, “What …ased Research?” 25 January 2019 (3:03)
In order to ensure CBR projects have positive and effective outcomes, researchers should carefully consider the well-being of community research participants. This means understanding, expecting, and budgeting for the challenges and barriers to participation in the research such as lack of time, funding, accessibility, childcare needs, transportation, and language barriers. It also means holding research meetings or focus groups in spaces where participants are comfortable and feel safe, and compensating participants for their time.
What could CBR look like in practice? This next resource provides a timely example of how CBR is carried out in real-life research. The link will take you to a short article published by HalifaxToday in December 2020 about how CBR was employed to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on communities in Nova Scotia. Dr. Charles, one of the researchers quoted in the article, explains that what the research made clear was “the importance of community-based groups to facilitate community solutions and responses.”
SMU Researchers Look at Impact of COVID…ities in Nova Scotia,” 22 December 2020
Key takeaways:
Community Based Research offers a means of mitigating issues of power and privilege in research. CBR should always strive to be:
- Relevant: Research is relevant when communities are an active part of creating and sharing knowledge that is meaningful.
- Equitable: All participants work to overcome the power imbalance between academic institutions and community groups by prioritizing the needs of the community.
- Action-Oriented: When partners build on a community’s strengths, share knowledge, experience mutual benefits from the research and engage in efforts to make welcomed and sustainable changes in the community.
Reflection Questions
- What was a key concept you learned in this module? How will you apply this in your own research context?
- How are the principles of EDI reflected in Community Based Research? How could this be extended also to other research approaches?
Conclusion
You’ve now reached the end of the first module: Power and Privilege in Research. Congratulations!
We hope that you learned some new things about power and privilege in research and issues surrounding this topic, as well as how researchers work to mitigate these issues through research practices such as Community Based Research. There are many more questions surrounding these topics; we could only introduce them here.
Take some time to think about your own key takeaways from this module, any questions you have, or topics that you want to explore further. You can explore additional materials related to the topics here by clicking “Further Reading.” When you are ready, you can move on to Module 2: Gender and Race in Research by clicking the link below.