It's a good thing the library allows me to renew books, because it took me a while to get through this. In my defense, this is a book about research methods in the social sciences, and I am not a social scientist or anywhere near one, so a lot of the earlier, more theoretical chapters were pretty heavy going. As the book went on, however, it began to engage more with the ways in which Indigenous peoples could navigate the practice of research. This was sometimes illustrated by examples, which made things a lot clearer - I could have done with quite a few more examples, to be honest, as nothing lights up theory for me like application.

It should be said that, as well as not being a social scientist, I am also not Indigenous, so much of this book wasn't directed at me. It's a book for Indigenous peoples who are engaging in research of Indigenous peoples (frequently of their own communities). I think what most struck me was the tension between being a researcher and being a member of the researched community, and the challenges and responsibilities that come with those dual roles. It was something that I had never considered before... which is why I read books like this, which are not directed at me, because it's important to be aware of issues like this. And while I admit that I am still not entirely sure what "positivist" means, I would like to think that I'm a little more conscious of research ethics now than I was, and that's a valuable thing.