The Suitability and Acceptability of the Think-Aloud Method to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults

Background: There is a long history of research being conducted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that has offered questionable benefit but occasioned great distress and distrust. Using research methods that are suitable and acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a critically important step towards restoring trust and improving the accessibility and relevancy of research that better addresses the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The current research aims to qualitatively evaluate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perceptions of the suitability and acceptability of engaging in a think-aloud interview embedded in an individual yarn; a think-aloud yarn.

Methods: We employed the think-aloud method as part of the larger What Matters 2Adults study. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants were engaged in a think-aloud yarn, then immediately following, a follow-up yarn to explore the acceptability of the think-aloud method. The follow-up yarns were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed utilising reflexive thematic analysis with an Indigenous epistemological lens.

Results: A total of 17 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults participated in our study. Participants reported that taking part in the think-aloud yarn was acceptable, not difficult and was less onerous than writing down their thoughts. Engaging participants in a social yarn before the think-aloud research yarn ensured they were comfortable verbalising and assured them that the process was confidential. Thinking out loud gave participants the opportunity to reflect and to think critically about their responses. Some found that by thinking out loud they were able to better understand the statements in their own mind and felt they were therefore able to provide a more authentic response. Because of these benefits, participants conveyed that the think-aloud yarn is a vitally important component in testing items and developing measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Conclusions: Overall, our study found that the think-aloud yarn is acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and therefore a suitable method for use in studies that involve them.

methods in qualitative inquiry, qualitative evaluation, phenomenology, focus groups, community based research