Research should uphold integrity and generate benefits for society. However, when research is extractive—where data, knowledge, or cultural insights are taken without equitable collaboration, recognition, or benefit-sharing—integrity is compromised, and inequities deepen.
Extractive practices occur when researchers collect information from communities without co-designing projects or sharing leadership, or when Global North scholars solicit contributions from Indigenous and Global South researchers without credit or reciprocity.
Impacts on Communities
Indigenous, racialized, and marginalized groups often bear the brunt of extractive research. Knowledge is stripped from its cultural context, local voices are sidelined, and benefits accrue elsewhere. This perpetuates historical patterns of appropriation and exclusion. For example, agricultural research may rely on traditional seed varieties or techniques from local farmers. If these contributions are commercialized without recognition or benefit-sharing, communities lose control over their resources, reinforcing inequity.
Impacts on Scholars
Global academic systems privilege English-language publication and Western paradigms, limiting opportunities for Indigenous and Global South scholars. These structural barriers restrict academic diversity and diminish the richness of research insights. Addressing this requires proactive, reciprocal collaboration and equitable authorship.
Action Commitments for Researchers
Extractive research violates respect, reciprocity, and justice. It undermines institutional and individual researcher commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The solution is clear:
· Co-design research with communities.
· Share leadership and authorship equitably.
· Ensure benefit-sharing and capacity building.
· Build long-term, trust-based relationships.
This is more than ethics—it’s a moral obligation and an opportunity. By centering community voices and challenging systemic inequities, we can transform research into a force for justice and collective well-being.
For more information, or to access I-EDI in Research support, please contact Joanne Garcia-Moores, I-EDI Research Advisor in the Research Services Office jmoores@uoguelph.ca
