Designing Research to Include Racial/Ethnic Diversity and Marginalized Voices

Abstract

Environmental education research designs will either exclude or include voices outside the dominant culture. Examining the questions we ask and the data collection techniques we use may enable us to design research that is more sensitive to marginalized voices. This article puts forward several methodological considerations that either draw out the voices of marginalized people or silence them. Research considerations addressed in this article include the delimitations of the study, conceptualizing the research question, ethnocentrism, sample selection, and who should conduct the research.