The rapid expansion of data in every facet of modern life from research and education to public policy and private industry demands a critical re-examination of how data is collected, analyzed, interpreted, and used. Bias and Beyond: Rethinking Data Practices and Inspiring collective dialogue responds to this call by exploring how bias enters the data lifecycle and how inclusive, reflexive, and equity-centered methodologies can improve the validity and impact of data-driven decisions.
Structured around the four stages of the data lifecycle including problem formulation, data collection, analysis, and use, this volume brings together diverse voices to interrogate systemic inequities and offer practical strategies for inclusive data practices. Drawing from qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, each chapter highlights the role of researcher positionality, power, and representation in shaping outcomes and knowledge.
Bias and Beyond is anchored in a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), not only as aspirational values but as methodological imperatives that must inform every aspect of data practice. It will serve as a timely and essential resource for researchers, educators, policymakers, and students committed to data justice and ethical inquiry.
Chapter
1. Rethinking Data Life Cycle Practices: The Value of Applying
Reflexivity Methods to Current Data Practices; EllenMarie McPhillip
Chapter
2. What Are We Even Measuring?: The Role of Survey Questions in
Demographic Data Collection; Joelle A. Dorsett, Alexis R. Franklin, Regine
Thermy Jean Baptiste, Marisol L. Meyer, and Guerda Nicolas
Chapter
3. Using Course Evaluations to Assess Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion: A Case Study on Measuring Difficult Concepts with Problematic
Instruments; April Mann, Cameron Riopelle, and Adina Sanchez-Garcia
Chapter
4. Garbage In, Garbage Out!: A Commentary on Bias in Standardized
Assessments; Murat Kasli, Celia Rubio, and Cengiz Zopluoglu
Chapter
5. From a Different View: Addressing Bias in Qualitative Research;
Jessica Wendorf Muhamad, Kallia O. Wright, and Tyler R. Harrison
Chapter
6. Current Practices of Meta-Analytic and Systematic Reviews in
Education Toward Unbiased, Inclusive, and Representative Research Evidence;
Soyeon Ahn, Ryan C. Schooley, Beck Graefe, and Ching-Hua Chuan
Chapter
7. Adult College (Re)Enrollment Advice & Information Networks: A
Descriptive Analysis; Willis A. Jones
Chapter
8. Systemic Racial Disparities in Large Data on School District
Finance & Housing: Three Empirical Illustrations; Bruce D. Baker and Wendy
Castillo
Chapter
9. Considering Quality Indicators of Mixed Methods Research; Wendy
Cavendish and Ignacio Barrenenchea
Soyeon Ahn, Ph.D.is a Professor in the Research, Measurement, and Evaluation Program at the University of Miamis School of Education and Human Development.
AprilMann, EdD, is the director of the Writing Center and a senior lecturer in the Department of Writing Studies at the University of Miami.
