Yarning over time and poetic lines: two new Indigenous research methodologies developed in using Longitudinal Study of Indigenous children (LSIC) data

Abstract

Abstract This methods and methodologies paper outlines how three Aboriginal scholars developed and applied Indigenous research approaches to analyse the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), also known as Footprints in Time . Through commitment to Indigenous leadership, the study employed yarning over time and poetic inquiry as analytical methodologies, reflecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing. These approaches honour relationality, continuity, and self-determination by centring Indigenous voices, epistemologies, and research ethics. By weaving together multiple data points into meaningful narratives and poetic representations, we demonstrate how these methodologies operate at the interface of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems (Ryder et al., 2019), providing strength-based approaches to understanding Indigenous childhood development. This paper contributes to Indigenous-led scholarship on longitudinal data analysis, affirming the value of storytelling and yarning for and by Indigenous peoples.