6 Reporting Results

6.1 Have you negotiated with the community who will report the results of the research, which results will be reported, and how?

• Aboriginal co-investigators, research officers, research assistants, project officers or other contributors to the project should, wherever practicable, be involved in the interpretation and writing up of results.
• Pictorial material must only be created, produced or used with consent and must be handled and disseminated in accordance with the community’s wishes.
• Due to a small population, communities and individuals may be identifiable even if they are not named.  Thus, care must be taken to ensure that the publication of results does not reveal the identity of any individual or any community without written permission.
• The advice of the project reference group or steering committee should be sought to ensure that confidentiality is protected.
• Participants should be offered an opportunity to receive a copy of the research findings in a format that is appropriate for their comprehension.  A plain language summary of findings should be reported to the whole community and distributed through relevant community agencies in whatever form they deem appropriate.
• A draft of the text for publication may be reviewed and approved by the community members or representatives, as advised by the project reference group or steering committee.

Resources: Reporting Results

Cultural Protocols for Indigenous Reporting in the Media

Messagestick Online, ABC, NSW

http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/education/cultural_protocol.htm

Writing about Indigenous Australia: Some Issues to Consider and Protocols to Follow: a discussion paper

Heiss, Anita, Australian Society of Authors, Sydney, NSW, 2001

http://www.asauthors.org/lib/pdf/Heiss_Writing_About_Indigenous_Australia.pdf