Author: Dan Bouk
Publisher: Wired
Publication Year: 2022
Summary: The following article provides what could be considered a history lesson about the U.S. Census. It touches on topics related to accurate collection of data (including measures taken in order to prevent census enumerators or these surveyed from providing fabricated or inaccurate data), but primarily tells the story with a focus on how the word “partner” as an indicator of relationship status has developed over time. The author writes that this label “became a clear place for placing the otherwise unplaceable.” 1940 was the first year in which this term was officially used by census takers, but once the paper reports were all in, the tabulators in Washington essentially erased the “partner” status from the data by incorporating all these into the “lodger” category. Today, there are actually two official options for partner on the census: “same-sex” and “opposite-sex.” The story of these developments tells us something about how to thoughtfully create survey questions that are fair and applicable to as many people as possible, and gives us an example of how not to erase unwanted data from our results.