Decolonizing Research & Data Through Feminist Methodologies

Abstract

What kinds of questions we intend to answer when collecting and analyzing data? Are our questions inclusive enough? Feminism offers the means to start decolonizing data even before we gather it, by opening up the questions that we think are important, focusing on issues that have always been there, but have been overlooked by our society in the past for different reasons. Decolonizing research methods is about putting the lens on issues that have been found irrelevant, or perhaps have even been ignored as valuable knowledge coming from populations that have been traditionally neglected by scientific research, such as single mothers, disabled black people, poor immigrants, just to name a few. Feminism not only opens up the spectrum of issues to be researched, but also provides creative ways to collect data and to analyze it, proposing ways to reduce or eliminate unequal power relations among researchers and participants, construct fairer relationships and create better life experiences for all, fostering collaboration, honesty and opportunities (Dána-Ain Davis & Christa Craven, 2023).