Resources

On this page, you'll find resources that haven been shared during our Equity in Data Community of Practice (CoP) sessions. Some resources will be found in multiple categories so you can find what you need easily.

Use the Table of Contents to easily jump to the topic you want resources for.

Look for the following Tags that designate different resource types:

  Report /Article                        Toolkit/Guide                       Podcast                       Resource Page                       Video/Webinar                        Book                       Tool  

Table of Contents

Analysis

Combining Racial Groups in Data Analysis can Mask Important Differences in Communities from the Urban Institute             Report /Article  

Demonstrating the range of poverty levels among racial groups when those groups are disaggregated by national origin categories.

Ethics and Empathy in Using Imputation to Disaggregate Data for Racial Equity from the Urban Institute's Racial Equity Analytics Lab                    Toolkit/Guide  

Guidelines for ethically imputing race and ethnicity. Sometimes you need data disaggregated by race and ethnicity to inform decisions - but you don't have it. Data analysts use imputation to fill in gaps in data using scientific methods and this guide gives recommendations and standards about how to impute race and ethnicity ethically.

What to do when you Can't Pick the Data from We All Count              Report /Article  

As data people, we often find ourselves having to work with data either in a way that wasn't intended, or to work with data that wasn't collected with intention. This piece offers options of what to do when we have to work with data that isn't ideal.

Asking Better Questions

The questions we ask determine the answers we will get. Here are some articles to help in asking better questions:

The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action             Report /Article  

Catalytic Thinking Questions using the Catalytic Thinking framework                  Toolkit/Guide  

Creating a Better World Means Asking Better Questions              Report /Article  

Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms

Check Before You Chat: A Guide to Evaluating Generative AI Tools (May 2025 CoP Recording)            Video/Webinar  

Coded Bias (Watch on Netflix)            Video/Webinar  

"In an increasingly data-driven, automated world, the question of how to protect individuals’ civil liberties in the face of artificial intelligence looms larger by the day. Coded Bias follows M.I.T. Media Lab computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, along with data scientists, mathematicians, and watchdog groups from all over the world, as they fight to expose the discrimination within algorithms now prevalent across all spheres of daily life."

Radical AI Podcast                 Podcast  

Podcast about ethics of artificial intelligence (ended in 2023, but still worth listening!).

Weapons of math destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy by Cathy O'Neil (2016)

Weapon of math descruction book               Book  

Talks at Google: In this talk, O'Neil sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life and threaten to rip apart our social fabric.             Video/Webinar    

Census

Accessing Detailed Ethnicity and Nationality Data with the Census Microdata Tool (July 2023 CoP Session Recording)         Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Census Reporter page on Race and Hispanic Origin in Census data             Toolkit/Guide  

Excellent page with information about how race and ethnicity (Hispanic Origin) are summarized in census data. Includes a helpful list of the tables that include race and Hispanic Origin, and also the letters the are added to the end of a table code for specific racial categories. 

Discovering Race & Ethnicity Data on data.census.gov from Feb 2021              Video/Webinar  

Description: The Census Bureau has ample demographic and socioeconomic data by race and ethnicity, and it's all available in our new data platform, data.census.gov. In this webinar we will define the concepts of race and ethnicity in accordance to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Standards, and demonstrate how to navigate data.census.gov to access this data. We'll also show you key tips and tricks to zero-in on the data you need, and guide you to additional resources to help you in your search.

Navigating Race and Ethnicity Statistics in Census Data (Mar 2024 CoP Session Recording)        Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Using census race and ethnic origin data.

Tableau Racial Equity Data Hub              Toolkit/Guide              Video/Webinar  

Using census race and ethnic origin data.

Your Feedback Can Shape the Census (Jan 2025 CoP Session Recording)            Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Zooming In: Using Small Group and Population Data (Apr 2024 CoP Session Recording)            Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Data Collection

Improving Demographic Data Collection in Connecticut (Sept 2021 CoP Recording)             Report /Article  

More Than Numbers: A Guide Toward Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Data Collection               Toolkit/Guide   

Recording from 2021 CoP Session          Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Includes sample questions for collecting data on gender identity and sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and ability.

Paying Respondents for Data by We All Count              Report /Article   

We all look for ways to increase the participation in our data collection, but have different perspectives on the appropriateness of paying people for data. Some see this as essential, others see it as manipulative. There is no easy answer, but we make decisions about it each time we collect data, perhaps without thinking through all aspects of the issue. This research brief will provide you with some information to help you make a more intentional decision. 

Vulnerability in LGBTQ+ Data Collection (Apr 2025 CoP Session Recording)          Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Data Visualization and Communication

Do No Harm Guide: Applying Equity Awareness in Data Visualization              Toolkit/Guide   

Recording from 2021 CoP Session                Video/Webinar  

Decolonizing Data Viz from Evergreen Data             Report /Article   

An article on how information and data has been visually encoded throughout history.

How Does 'Where' Matter? Exploring GIS and Data Equity (May 2022 CoP Session)             Report /Article                      Video/Webinar  

PolicyViz Episode #189: Mimi Onuoha           Podcast  

Onuoha is a data analyst and artist. In this episode she talks about her interesting Missing Data Project and gives some interesting ideas for us data people to think about.

The Power of Dashboards: Equity in Data Community of Practice Learns from the COMPASS Youth Collaborative (Jan 2024 CoP Session)             Report /Article                      Video/Webinar  

Data Viz Accessibility

• Accessibility for Color Vision Deficiency (Color Blindness)

  • • Color Blind Guide  - Simulator                 Tool  

    • DaltonLens Online Color Blindness Simulators - explains why there are differences between color vision simulators and which is most accurate                  Toolkit/Guide                    Tool  

    • Online Color Blindness Simulator                   Tool  

• Accessibility for Low or No Vision

  • • A New Vision for Data Viz Accessibility              Report /Article  

    • Blind news audiences are being left behind in the data visualization revolution: here's how we fix that by Johny Cassidy             Report /Article  

    • Data Viz Contrast - Check your line chart widths.                    Tool  

    • Image Description Guidelines                   Toolkit/Guide  

    • NV Access - Screen reader that is free and open source.                      Tool  

    • WebAIM - "Web Accessibility in Mind" Contrast Checker with details about adherence to WCAG.                      Tool  

    • What is High Contrast for Data Visualization? (with examples) by              Report /Article  

    • Writing Alternative Text for Data Visualizations by Amy Cesal                  Toolkit/Guide  

• Are your visualizations excluding people? from the Data Visualization Society                    Video/Webinar  

• Chartability Workbook                  Toolkit/Guide  

Chartability is a set of principles and tests that are designed to help you find accessibility barriers in data visualizations.

• Choosing Accessible Fonts: Enhancing Readability and Inclusivity by Monika Prasad             Report /Article  

Not all fonts are created with accessibility in mind! This guide will help you understand what makes a font accessible and introduces you to the best font for accessibility: Atkinson Hyperlegible.

• Coolors - Color palette generator                     Tool  

• Designing for Neurodivergent Audiences by William Careri             Report /Article  

• OpenDyslexia - font designed for people with dyslexia.

• Readability checking

  • Hemingway Editor - Free online readilibity checker. Highlights sentences that are difficult to read.                     Tool  

  • Microsoft Word has readability and level statistics, you just have to know where to find it. Click here for the steps to get to your document's score.                     Tool  

• State and Local Governments: First Steps Toward Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule - Posted January 8th, 2025             Report /Article  

• Visually Accessible Data Visualization by Derek Torsani             Report /Article  

Designing data visualization to be more visually accessible using patterns, shapes, and high contrast colors.

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 W3C Recommendation 06 May 2025              Report /Article                   Toolkit/Guide  

Environment and Mapping

Connecticut Broadband Availability and Adoption Applications                 Tool  

Connecticut Environmental Justice Screening Tool                 Tool  

How Does 'Where' Matter? Exploring GIS and Data Equity (May 2022 CoP Session)             Report /Article                      Video/Webinar  

Foundations & Frameworks for Equity in Data

Big picture frameworks, guiding principles, and rethinking evaluation or research to center equity.

Aligning Systems With Communities to Advance Equity through Shared Measurement: Guiding Principles             Report /Article  

Data Ethics & Policy with Sheila Colclasure September 17, 2019                  Podcast  

The Ethics of Counting by Deborah Stone            Report /Article  

Elevate Data for Equity project              Resource Page  

Library of resources “to help change norms and practices of data use to advance equity and prevent harm to communities of color and people with low incomes.”

Equity in Action: Insights from CTData Collaborative (Oct 24, 2024 CoP Session Recording)           Report /Article                 Video/Webinar  

Learning in Action Equity in Practice Checklists/Tools             Toolkit/Guide  

Principles for Advancing Equitable Data Practice by the Urban Institute             Report /Article  

Outlines 3 basic principles we can apply to our data practice, along with bulleted examples and links with in-depth examples.

A Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration 2.0 by the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP)             Toolkit/Guide  

Great resource for identifying ways to integrate equity principles even if you’re not involved with data integration (which is in the title).

Shifting the Evaluation Paradigm: The Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF)           Report /Article  

This report, a joint publication between the Equitable Evaluation Initiative and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations "encourages those engaged in evaluative work to consider long-standing beliefs and assumptions in their practice with a general overview of the EEF, which seeks to seed and grow a field of EEF Practice Partners expanding notions of validity, objectivity and rigor — while also embracing the complexity of this work and all in the service of equity." Here's more information about the Equitable Evaluation Framework.

Racial Equity Tools             Resource Page  

2,700 resources on racial equity, from basic concepts to integrating equity into data work (under the “Evaluate” section). 

Power, Participation & Community Centered Research

Resources about shifting power, involving communities, and sharing decision-making in data work.

Advancement Project's Participatory Asset Mapping: A Community Research Lab Toolkit (April 2012)               Toolkit/Guide  

Digital Defense Playbook: Community Power Tools for Reclaiming Data               Toolkit/Guide  

“Our Data Bodies (ODB) has conducted research and produced a workbook of popular education activities focused on data, surveillance, and community safety to co-create and share knowledge, analyses, and tools for data justice and data access for equity.”

Lean Research             Report /Article  

"Lean Research is an approach and an initiative to improve the practice of data collection involving people and communities in development and humanitarian contexts."

Paying Respondents for Data by We All Count              Report /Article   

We all look for ways to increase the participation in our data collection, but have different perspectives on the appropriateness of paying people for data. Some see this as essential, others see it as manipulative. There is no easy answer, but we make decisions about it each time we collect data, perhaps without thinking through all aspects of the issue. This research brief will provide you with some information to help you make a more intentional decision. 

Resource Guide: Radical Mapping by The Laundromat Project              Report /Article    

The ODI Data Ethics Canvas                   Tool  

A tool for anyone who collects, shares, or uses data. It helps identify and manage ethical issues - at the start of a project that uses data, and throughout.

What to do when you Can't Pick the Data from We All Count              Report /Article  

As data people, we often find ourselves having to work with data either in a way that wasn't intended, or to work with data that wasn't collected with intention. This piece offers options of what to do when we have to work with data that isn't ideal.

Why Am I Always Being Researched?              Toolkit/Guide  

A Guidebook for Community Organizations, Researchers, and Funders to Help Us Get from Insufficient Understanding to More Authentic Truth. "If we do not address the power dynamic in the creation of research, at best, we are driving decision-making from partial truths. At worst, we are generating inaccurate information that ultimately does more harm than good in our communities. This is why we must care about how research is created." This guidebook is designed "to help shift the power dynamic and the way community organizations, researchers, and funders uncover knowledge together."

CTData Blog Post and Recording from our 2022 Conference             Report /Article                      Video/Webinar  

Privacy and Security

Digital Defense Playbook: Community Power Tools for Reclaiming Data               Toolkit/Guide  

“Our Data Bodies (ODB) has conducted research and produced a workbook of popular education activities focused on data, surveillance, and community safety to co-create and share knowledge, analyses, and tools for data justice and data access for equity.”

Why Data Privacy is a Human Right (and What Businesses Should do About it)             Report /Article  

"The United Nations has declared internet access a human right, and...I believe classifying internet access as a human right means a lot more than just enabling people to watch TikToks." This article highlights the potential cost to businesses for violating data privacy, but it also implicates an important idea relevant to anyone who collects data that we talk about a lot as a group: Trustworthiness.

Public Health

Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes by Rhea Boyd in the NY Times             Report /Article  

This piece reframes the narrative from vaccine hesitancy, which blames communities of color for not receiving vaccine, to lack of vaccine access.

Equity and Ethics in Data Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons from Some Connecticut Data Users             Report /Article  

Lessons learned during our first ever community of practice, back in June of 2020.

Is the state's vaccine rollout leaving behind Black and Latino residents? from the CT Mirror            Report /Article                  Podcast   

Local Officials Lost Precious Time to Protect Black Residents from Coronavirus, Washington Post, June 3, 2020             Report /Article  

Race, Racism, and Decolonization

Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes, Rhea Boyd in the NY Times             Report /Article  

This piece reframes the narrative from vaccine hesitancy, which blames communities of color for not receiving vaccine, to lack of vaccine access.

Combining Racial Groups in Data Analysis can Mask Important Differences in Communities from the Urban Institute             Report /Article  

Demonstrates the range of poverty levels among racial groups when those groups are disaggregated by national origin categories.

Data for Black Lives              Resource Page  

Decolonizing Data Viz from Evergreen Data             Report /Article  

An article on how information and data has been visually encoded throughout history.

Desegrating Connecticut Schools: Visualizing Sheff v. O'Neill to Inform and Inspire Action

CTData blog post and recording from June 2022 CoP                Report /Article                  Video/Webinar  

Trinity College students' analysis finds state far from promises make to desegrate Hartford Schools from Connecticut Public Radio                  Report /Article                   Podcast   

Ethics and Empathy in Using Imputation to Disaggregate Data for Racial Equity: Recommendations and Standards Guide from the Urban Institute's Racial Equity Analytics Lab                    Toolkit/Guide  

Guidelines for ethically imputing race and ethnicity. Sometimes you need data disaggregated by race and ethnicity to inform decisions - but you don't have it. Data analysts use imputation to fill in gaps in data using scientific methods and this guide gives recommendations and standards about how to impute race and ethnicity ethically.

How We Can Engage with Race and Racism in Research: Developing a Racial Analysis           Report /Article  

Is the state's vaccine rollout leaving behind Black and Latino residents? from the CT Mirror            Report /Article                  Podcast   

Let’s Talk About Race: How Racially Explicit Messaging Can Advance Equity             Report /Article  

Local Officials Lost Precious Time to Protect Black Residents from Coronavirus on Washington Post, June 3, 2020             Report /Article  

Policy Viz Episode #190: Rhea Boyd             Podcast  

Boyd talks about the importance of naming racism when you include race as a variable in a data analysis. The variable isn't actually race but racism (since there's no biological reality of race), but the category of race doesn't convey that clearly. 

Racial Bias in Flexner Report Permeates Medical Education Today             Report /Article  

Flexner Report              Report /Article  

Tableau Racial Equity Data Hub                Toolkit/Guide                   Video/Webinar  

Trust

The Principles of Trustworthiness by The Association of American Medial Colleges                 Resource Page  

The Equity in Data community of Practice has discussed shifting the onus of trust from individuals to our institutions. The Association of American Medical Colleges has put a great deal of thought into this idea and developed a list of 10 principles, toolkits, and videos on this idea.

Why Data Privacy is a Human Right (and What Businesses Should do About it)             Report /Article  

"The United Nations has declared internet access a human right, and...I believe classifying internet access as a human right means a lot more than just enabling people to watch TikToks." This article highlights the potential cost to businesses for violating data privacy, but it also implicates an important idea relevant to anyone who collects data that we talk about a lot as a group: Trustworthiness.