IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2022

Building Toward More Just Data Practices

Catherine C. Gouge ; Erin Brock Carlson West Virginia University

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> This tutorial offers technical and professional communication (TPC) professionals a heuristic designed to support more just data practices. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key concepts:</b> Understanding how data contribute to discussions of public problems matters, especially in times of crisis during which multiply marginalized communities are disproportionately affected. Critical Data Studies clarifies how data practice and priorities emerging from various domains of power exacerbate structural inequalities. If we recognize, reveal, and reject data practices that cast data as if they were neutral or fixed, we can ensure that our data practices as TPC professionals are more just. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key lessons:</b> 1. Recognize that data are socially constructed and often incomplete. 2. Reveal the overarching social, political, cultural, and economic conditions that shape data collection and by extension, data itself. 3. Reject faulty or biased processes for data interpretation and analysis that perpetuate inequality. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Implications for practice:</b> By acknowledging the relationship between data and context, we can promote better, more just data practices, preparing TPC professionals to work alongside community stakeholders in intersectional coalitions and challenging the conditions that lead to unjust data that fail to represent, over-represent, or blatantly misrepresent the realities of vulnerable communities.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2022-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2021.3137675
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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Citation context

Cited by in this index (2)

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    Complex Data Visualization Decision-Making: The Case of a Circular Dendrogram o…
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  2. Swarts (2025)
    The Construction of Data Usability
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