3. A Research Methodology for the Pacific

The debate on the appropriate research methods to be employed in research on and for indigenous people by both indigenous and non-indigenous researchers is a recent phenomenon. Pacific islands researchers are developing Pacific specific research methodologies for research on, by and for Pacific Islanders. This involves the use of research methodologies that are appropriate to the cultural environment of the Pacific Islands. Talanoa, a Pacific specific interview method fitting for Pacific research was developed to collect empirical interview data. The deliberate choice of research interview method adopted is to highlight that pluralism exists everywhere in Samoa. This is shown by the differences in which ‘Talanoa’ was employed to accommodate the variances between the village and state interviewees. For the purposes of this book, the interviewees are referred to as ‘respondents’. To promote the position that research methods must be relevant for Pacific societies the subject of studies, recent scholarly work on postcolonial and Pacific methodologies is worth mention.