ICPSR Policy on Harmful Language
Approved: April 12, 2024
ICPSR is dedicated to describing its data collections in an accurate, thorough, and respectful manner. Metadata (e.g., catalog records and information about variables) often re-use language provided by the creators of or participants in research data collections because it provides important context about the materials or was a central component of the original research and resulting data. Some metadata, including records created decades ago, may include language that is recognized as offensive or harmful today.
If you encounter language in descriptive metadata or elsewhere that you find offensive or harmful, or if you have questions about our work, we welcome your feedback. Please email ICPSR-help@umich.edu
ICPSR is committed to assessing, contextualizing, and—in some cases—updating descriptions that are harmful. To advance these goals, ICPSR will:
- Adhere to professional standards and best practices and consult with community resources to ensure ICPSR metadata conventions are appropriate and inclusive.
- Evaluate existing policies for exclusionary practices and institutional biases.
- Implement intentional and explicit principles that support diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (see the ICPSR DEI Statement).
- Inform users about the presence and origin of harmful or offensive content.
- Maintain the integrity of the original data collection to ensure long-term findability for and reproducibility in subsequent research.
Our policy was informed by and adapted from Stephanie Luke and Sharon Mizota's June 8, 2022 Society of American Archivists Webinar, "Reparative Description," as well as from statements by: Brown University Library; Digital Public Library of America; Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library; Folger Shakespeare Library; United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) [Guiding Principles for Reparative Description at NARA] [NARA's Statement on Potentially Harmful Content]