Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2021 OA PDF

“Missing/Unspecified”: Demographic Data Visualization During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rachel Atherton

Abstract

While data 1 has shown that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Black people, the CDC’s early data listed race as “missing/unspecified” at high rates. Incomplete demographic data obscures the virus’s full impact on marginalized communities. Without more information about who the virus is affecting and how, we cannot protect our most vulnerable. This article demonstrates disconnects between reported datasets and data visualizations in public-facing COVID health and science communication and suggests steps that technical and professional communicators can take in creating or using data visualizations accurately and ethically to describe COVID conditions and impacts.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2021-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651920957982
Open Access
OA PDF Bronze
Topics
scientific writing race and writing affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Hartzog (2025)
    ‘Flatten the curve’: rhetorical data visualizations of a global pandemic
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Young (2025)
    Pandemic Communications Beyond Risk and Crisis: A Change of Course for Law Enfo…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Lindgren et al. (2025)
    Technical Communication's Fight Against Extractive Large Language Modeling by A…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Lindgren (2024)
    A Stasis Network Methodology to Reckon with the Rhetorical Process of Data: How…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Sorapure (2023)
    User Perceptions of Actionability in Data Dashboards
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (2)

  1. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Wolfe (2015)
    Teaching Students to Focus on the Data in Data Visualization
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓
  1. Garg S., Kim L., Whitaker M., O’Halloran A., Cummings C., Holstein R., Prill M., Chai S. J., Kirley P. D., Al…
     ↗
  2. 10.7551/mitpress/9302.001.0001
     ↗
  3. 10.7551/mitpress/11543.001.0001
     ↗
  4. Melonçon L., Warner E. (2017). Data visualizations: A literature review and opportunities for technical and p…
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 24 View in citation network →

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