Below you will find links to documents describing specific inclusive language topics, presented in alphabetical order by topic title. They are presented separately for ease of review. Each link presents an overview of the topic, recommendations for inclusive language approaches for research, and resources and references. 

In the drop down page for each topic, you will find the link to the Google Doc, the “Last Updated” date (which describes the last time the Lab made changes to the topic), and acknowledgements of primary authors of the page.

We are committed to the ongoing evolution and strengthening of these topics. We encourage you to actively interact with each section and provide any constructive feedback through our Inclusive Language Approach for Research Feedback Survey. 

If you use either the introduction or content from a specific document to guide or support your own work, we ask that you cite it as follows:

The Carmichael Lab. (LAST UPDATED YEAR, MONTH DATE). TITLE OF PAGE. Inclusive Language Approach for Research. RETRIEVED DATE, from URL.

Please contact carmichaellab@stanford.edu with questions.

As a team of academic researchers, we recognize the importance of ensuring that the work we do and the content we put out into the world reflects our values. While we know that many journals have begun to explicitly state guidelines for inclusive language in manuscripts, we believe the work to achieve inclusive language must start earlier than during manuscript submission. Thus, the idea for this Inclusive Language Approach was born in January 2021 out of a desire to articulate the values that we aim to uphold in our research and dissemination processes and how these values may practically manifest in what research questions we ask, what methods are used, who is part of the research process, and how our work is presented. 

We believe an inclusive language approach for research is one in which the identities, perspectives, and priorities of all those connected to and impacted by the research we do – researchers, participants, reviewers, and consumers – are shared, honored, and incorporated. Our values of an inclusive language approach for research, described below, are those we aspire to manifest in our work, and we commit to ongoing self-reflection on these values and how we strive to achieve them. 

1. Intentionality: Whether presenting, writing papers, discussing work with colleagues, or reflecting on our efforts in more informal settings, this group commits to being intentional about the language we choose to use to ensure that all identities are represented and honored through our work. We recognize this is a choice that we will have to make over and over again, including but not limited to dedicating presentation time and word count space to ensure we are staying true to our intentions.

2. Equity: Rather than focusing on the idea of “equal” prioritization and representation, our group centers equity, recognizing that marginalized communities must be centered both to combat historic injustices in research where these communities and voices were intentionally ignored and to ensure the diversity of realities and perspectives are present in our efforts.

3. Humility: This group recognizes that evolving cultural and community standards and preferences will inevitably result in language once considered appropriate and supportive being understood as offensive or demoralizing. We commit to continuing to learn and listen, honoring those changes without malice, and evolving our own approach in response to the priorities of those communities our language is seeking to represent.

4.  Accountability: The extent to which the group reaches or falls short of the stated values and commitments of an inclusive research approach must be regularly reviewed and used to consistently strengthen and improve its work. The approach to such reflection and reporting is to be decided upon by the group and corresponds to the regular revisions of this document.

5. Intersectionality: The theory of intersectionality, developed by Black feminist and legal scholars, centers the reality that “interlocking systems of marginalization result in unique forms of oppression that are different from and greater than the sum of their individual parts” (Hailu et al., 2022, p.2; Crenshaw, 1989). Our group acknowledges the overlapping power relations that present as interconnected systems of oppression. We aim to explicitly declare and maintain awareness of these intersectional identities in order to ensure that the true realities of the people our work represents are reflected. 

We would like to acknowledge Rachel Berkowitz, Jennifer Soh, and Tracy Chidyausiku as the primary authors of the Introduction and History & Values statements, as well as for their leadership in the initial development of the Inclusive Language Approach for Research project. 

We would like to acknowledge the members of the Carmichael Lab who collaborated on the development of the project and the original page content:

• Barbara Abrams, DrPH, RD

• Shalmali Bane, MS

• Elleni Hailu, MPH

• Xing Gao, MPH

• Henry Lee, MD

• Deirdre Lyell, MD

• Audrey Lyndon PhD, FAAN, RNC

• Sai Ramya Maddali, MPH

• Elliott Main, MD

• Marina Magalhães, PhD, RN

• Mahasin Mujahid, PhD, MS, FAHA

• Jonathan Snowden, PhD

• Curisa Tucker, PhD, RN