A brief review of the papers presented at the Symposium on Research and Evaluation Methodology highlights some of the major issues of research in Indian Country. There is a need to translate research results into terms that are meaningful at the local level, yet the act of doing this reveals tensions between scientific objectivity and advocacy. Tribes have developed research ethics codes, but recognition of them by mainstream institutions has been slow. Sampling issues reveal a tension between generalizability and local specificity of findings, which have different kinds of constituents and different lessons attached to them. The imposition of national evaluation models also involves the tension between the general and the specific. The development of tribally operated and administered institutional review boards presents numerous challenges, not the least of which is how to fund them. There are issues involved with confidentiality. Sponsoring agencies often want all data made public, but tribes may insist on community confidentiality. Using Native persons for data collection is often assumed to enhance rapport between researchers and study participants, but there are disadvantages to be considered. Issues involved with informed consent include language barriers, cultural differences, and who is authorized to give informed consent. Spirituality is important to Native communities, yet measuring it is problematic, especially with Western scientific methods. The length of time involved in conducting culturally respectful participatory research presents its own barriers to young researchers whose success depends on publication. (TD)