Respectful data collection and Indigenous data sovereignty

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A student wants to survey an Aboriginal community for a project. What should they do first?

A Ask the community's leaders or representatives for permission

B Start collecting data and ask for permission later

2. Which statement best describes Indigenous data sovereignty?

A Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples decide how data about their communities is collected, used and shared

B Any researcher who collects data about a community owns it and can share it freely

3. True or false: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have their own ways of gathering and holding knowledge, such as stories, songs and Elders' teaching.

A False

B True

4. A school project uses an existing dataset about a First Nations community. Which is the respectful choice?

A Check how the data may be used and acknowledge the community as the source

B Use it however you like because it is already online

5. Who should have a say in how data about a community is shared?

A Only the person who collected it

B The community the data is about

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Indigenous data sovereignty		Adata_owner = "Community"
2community consent		Bconsent_from_community = TRUE
3Data about a community should only be collected after the community has agreed, and it should be recorded in the project plan		CThe right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to own, control and decide how data about their communities is collected, used and shared
4The community keeps control of who owns and can access its data, so access is limited to approved people		DPublic data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is not automatically free to use. Existing datasets should be used respectfully, with permission, acknowledgement and care about the community's wishes.
5IF dataset is public THEN use it freely, no need to ask or acknowledge the community		EAsking the community's permission, through its recognised leaders or organisations, before collecting or using data about its people, culture or Country
6owner = "Researcher" // researcher decides how community data is shared		FThe researcher is wrongly set as the owner. Under Indigenous data sovereignty, the community owns and controls data about it and decides how it is collected, used and shared.

Definitions

Indigenous data sovereignty

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

IF _______ = "granted" THEN collect(data) END IF

ALTER TABLE records ADD owner ____;

=__(B2="Yes","Share","Do not share")

IF ___ consent_given THEN DISPLAY "Ask the community first" END IF

SELECT dataset, community, permission FROM datasets _____ permission = 'granted';

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A asked = True

B agreed = False

C if not agreed:

D print("Collect data")

E else:

F print("Collect data")

Question 2

A community = "Palawa"

B owner = "researcher"

C controller = community

D print(owner, controller)

Question 3

A permission = ask_owner()

B if permission == True:

C data = load("health.csv")

D credit = "me"

E print(credit)

Question 4

A plan = "share results"

B need_ok = False

C if need_ok:

D ask_community()

Question 5

A consent = True

B if consent:

C start_project()

Answer Key

Respectful data collection and Indigenous data sovereignty

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Ask the community's leaders or representatives for permission

A — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples decide how data about their communities is collected, used and shared

B — True

A — Check how the data may be used and acknowledge the community as the source

B — The community the data is about

Section B: Match the Pairs

Indigenous data sovereignty → The right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to own, control and decide how data about their communities is collected, used and shared

community consent → Asking the community's permission, through its recognised leaders or organisations, before collecting or using data about its people, culture or Country

Data about a community should only be collected after the community has agreed, and it should be recorded in the project plan → consent_from_community = TRUE

The community keeps control of who owns and can access its data, so access is limited to approved people → data_owner = "Community"

IF dataset is public THEN use it freely, no need to ask or acknowledge the community → Public data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is not automatically free to use. Existing datasets should be used respectfully, with permission, acknowledgement and care about the community's wishes.

owner = "Researcher" // researcher decides how community data is shared → The researcher is wrongly set as the owner. Under Indigenous data sovereignty, the community owns and controls data about it and decides how it is collected, used and shared.

Section C: Definitions

Indigenous data sovereignty — The right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to own, control and decide how data about their communities is collected, used and shared, with consent and respect.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF consent = "granted" THEN
    collect(data)
END IF

ALTER TABLE records ADD owner TEXT;

=IF(B2="Yes","Share","Do not share")

IF NOT consent_given THEN
    DISPLAY "Ask the community first"
END IF

SELECT dataset, community, permission
FROM datasets
WHERE permission = 'granted';

Section E: Spot the Error

D — When the community has not agreed, data collection must not go ahead. This line should print the 'Wait for consent' message, not start collecting.

B — Under Indigenous data sovereignty, the community owns data about itself. The owner should be set to community, not the researcher.

D — When using an existing dataset, the community who owns it must be acknowledged. It should be credit = owner, not the researcher's own name.

B — Community approval is always needed before sharing results. need_ok should be True so the program asks the community first.

A — Consent must come from actually asking the community, not from assuming it. The line should be consent = ask_community().