Towards greater involvement of bicultural bilingual researchers in qualitative research with culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

Abstract

Background: With the need to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in research, extensive qualitative research is conducted with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations. Bilingual researchers can add value when conducting research with CALD populations.

Aim: To initiate a call for greater involvement of bicultural bilingual researchers when conducting research with CALD populations.

Discussion: Bicultural bilingual researchers can be more sensitive to the contextualised values of CALD populations, can better apply an intersectionality lens in research, and are able to offer a more emic narrative than bilingual-only researchers.

Conclusion: Bicultural bilingual researchers who are well-versed in multiple languages and the sociocultural heritage of CALD populations can help ensure the conduct of rigorous inquiry by using their unique linguistic and cultural expertise to build community trust, interpret data accurately, and eliminate hidden biases that others might miss in research.

Implications for practice: Bicultural bilingual researchers can better understand the cultural and implied meaning of participants' experiences. By providing unique narratives in specific contexts, they can offer more meaningful insights compared with bilingual-only researchers.