(Text)mining microaggressions literature: Implications impacting black computing faculty

Microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal behavioral or environmental indignities (whether intentional or unintentional) that communicate hostility, insensitivity and negativity to an individual or group. Microaggressions communicate beliefs about who is expected to participate in and succeed in fields of study. Microaggressions can play a significant role in how Black faculty perceive and experience participation, engagement, retention and advancement. The authors adopt a broad definition of computing to include information systems, information sciences, and computer science. The Computer Research Association (CRA) Taulbee Survey, for instance, indicates that Black faculty represent 1.3 percent of computing sciences faculty at PhD-granting departments, and only 0.6 percent are full professors. Because Black faculty are woefully underrepresented in the field, issues of career fit and progression, institutional fit, social and professional isolation, mentoring and career support are paramount. Understanding microaggressive experiences and coping strategies will advance knowledge and facilitate the development of theoretically-informed interventions for building the resilience of Black faculty and cultivating supportive institutional environments that encourage their retention and career advancement. The authors employ “big data” text-mining analytic methods to uncover and explore themes related to microaggressions experienced by Black faculty as discussed in scholarly and academic publications. The results uncovered five topics (jobs and race, gender and race, family, tenure, and dialogue) and three major themes (media coverage, post-aggression, and prevalence). The authors conclude with policy and research implications of these results.