Trumped up data

• Date: 14 February 2018
• Published date: 14 February 2018
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0179
• Pages: 88-95
• Author: Charles W. Gossett
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Trumped up data

Charles W. Gossett

Department of Public Policy & Administration, California State University,

Sacramento, California, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to review recent practices by members of the Trump administration

that may impact the ability of diversity researchers to have access to data in the coming years.

Design/methodology/approach –This is a viewpoint essay based largely on current news reports and

does not rely on original research.

Findings –While there are strong reasons for concern that the collection, dissemination, and analysis of

government data may negatively affect the ability to conduct research, the findings are still primarily

speculative and not conclusive.

Research limitations/implications –To the extent that researcher rely on the creation of and access to

data generated by federal government agencies, there could be challenges to answering new research

questions and/or doing research that compares the present to the past.

Practical implications –Researchers may want to take steps to protect their access to governmentdata by

downloading those databases that are most crucial for their work.

Originality/value –This viewpoint article represents only the author’s reflection on what might happen in

the future based on what has happened so far.

Keywords Equal opportunities, Government policy, Research and development

Paper type Viewpoint

The purpose of this paper is to speculate, based on evidence to date, about the possible

changes in American government policy with respect to the collection, dissemination, and

analysis (use) of quantitative data that many scholars rely upon for understanding

demographic and behavioral changes in the USA. President Trump has not yet been in

office for a full year, but there have been a number of indications that policies and

practices of previous administrations might be substantially changed in the coming years.

The paper is in no way a comprehensive review of all federal government data sources,

but rather to identify the extent to which scholars should be concerned or to which they

might be reassured that data collection, dissemination, and analysis will continue to be

professionally managed while minimizing the influence of ideological priorities of any

political party (recognizing, of course, that the influence of ideology can never be

completely erased).

Prior to the nomination of Donald J. Trump as the Republican candidate for the

presidency of the USA there were already signs that he had, shall we say, an idiosyncratic

relationship with “data”(Reeves, 2017). What started as rather exaggerated claims

about the “real”unemployment figures –which suddenly became accurate almost

immediately upon his inauguration (Ingraham, 2017) –soon moved to obviously false

claims about the black/white murder rate in various cities (Farley, 2015) and, after his

election, an eventual claim that nearly 5 million fraudulent votes were cast for his

opponent in the 2016 election for president (Koerth-Baker, 2017). Validity and reliability be

damned! But perhaps we do not need to worry about facts and figures as the new

administration seems inclined towards removing government data from public access,

as has been witnessed in the case of climate change data, the decision not to release the

White House daily visitor logs, and the closing of the White House’s data portal on its

webpages (New, 2017).

Shortly, before receiving the invitation to participate in a panel discussion about the

possible impact of the Trump administration on equality, diversity, and inclusion, I had

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 37 No. 1, 2018

pp. 88-95

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0179

Received 12 September 2017

Revised 13 December 2017

Accepted 13 December 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

88

EDI

37,1