Finn Shelp-Peck is the transgender and gender expansive justice specialist at inclusion tennessee who moved from North Carolina to Nashville in 2022 for graduate school at Vanderbilt University.
As activism and community-centered research evolves, we have a chance to turn a new page in ethical commitments to data collection, distribution, and implementation.
In the last six years I have conducted over 3,000 hours of research in multiple different fields ranging from reproductive and cellular biology to social science and community health.
I have attended and spoken at conferences, written and edited publications, and analyzed and disseminated data. Thankfully, I have been lucky to have incredible mentors who have taught me and guided me through these endeavors.
Through this time I have noticed an opportunity for research to take a more community-centric approach.
Data has been collected on marginalized communities with little regard for their well-being
I love the ways that activism informs research projects and strategies, just as research is informed, inspired, and shaped by social movements and community needs. In Nashville, don’t feel a sense of belonging, showcasing the disconnect between place, community, and purpose.
All of the researchers I know are passionate about what they are doing and the communities they work with. Similarly, all of the activists, advocates, and organizers I know love the communities they serve with every cell of themselves. These fields seem different and separate, but really are deeply dependent on one another.
Marginalized communities have had information and data collected from them without a regard for the physical, emotional, and mental lasting impact of such actions. Those in positions of power and privilege have taken this information for their benefit and often do not implement change using the extracted data but rather leave that to professionals and organizers in different fields.
Data is not subjective, but rather infused with bias shaped by the creator – no matter how hard they try to neutralize it. and machine learning is not without bias, but inevitably reinforces existing stereotypes and biases because it is created to generalize populations.
In of her book, “Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy,” Cathy O’Neil talks about mathematical models as being mere simplifications which “reflect the judgments and priorities of its creators” (page 21). She goes on to discuss the impact of bias on predictive models for events as benign as the outcome of a baseball game to viciously harmful engrained systems like racism.
These four important steps will produce ethical and community-oriented results
Given the history and pattern of Big Data, apprehension about participating in data collection is understandable and expected. This is where I think there is a poignant opportunity for those collecting data to more ethically partner with communities, activists, and organizers to create equitable and impactful programming and resources.
- This starts by including community members, advocates, activists, and organizers in the process of creating surveys and collecting data. Better collaboration will lead to more empathetic and trustworthy surveys.
- Next, there needs to be an intentional and active effort to appropriately compensate participants and organizers for their time and contributions. Taking a survey that asks you to disclose personal and delicate information about yourself is taxing in many ways, asking someone to spend valuable time and remain uncompensated is unethical.
- The third step is making sure that people who participate in the research projects are the first to receive results and are not left guessing about what will come of their time and information. This is an important step in conducting community-centric research.
- Finally, there need to be collaborative efforts in using gathered data to implement impactful programming. While research is important, if the information taken from a community is not given back then it can be harmful and perpetuate an existing power imbalance. This collaboration can look like mutual aid, information sharing, or program development to name a few.
Ultimately, activism and research support one another and are inextricably linked. An effort needs to be made to actively collaborate and support more sustainable and ethical practices. Working together while recognizing each other’s strengths is how we create equitable and impactful community change.
Finn Shelp-Peck is the transgender and gender expansive justice specialist at inclusion tennessee who moved from North Carolina to Nashville in 2022 for graduate school at Vanderbilt University.
