How to design research-aligned DEI interventions in physics

TL;DR

This paper offers a comprehensive guide for designing research-based DEI interventions in physics, emphasizing research findings, potential challenges, and practical questions to ensure effective and aligned efforts.

Contribution

It provides a structured framework with six key questions, integrating research evidence and examples to improve DEI intervention design in physics.

Findings

DEI interventions show modest positive benefits

Resistance and unintended consequences are common challenges

Research-based design improves intervention effectiveness

Abstract

This article provides resources to design effective diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) interventions in physics settings. It summarizes critiques of DEI interventions and reviews research findings suggesting that DEI interventions show modest but positive benefits. It covers physics-specific concerns around DEI (resistance from skeptical participants, unintended negative consequences for members of minoritized groups). The article then explores six design questions: 1) What are the intended outcomes of the intervention? (with a list of possible outcomes) 2) How will the intervention be justified to participants? 3) Will the intervention be voluntary or required? 4) Who will the participants be? 5) What activities will the intervention consist of? (with suggested activities paired to outcomes) 6) How will you know whether the intervention worked? (with tools used by other researchers to measure particular outcomes, and bonus suggestions for how to carry out publication-worthy evaluations). Each question is explored using research results and recommendations, and illustrated using examples from physics and other STEM settings.