In this dissertation, I explore the construction and reproduction of social identities
(race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity) in educational policy and
research. Framed through a Foucauldian genealogy of knowledge-making practices, I
focus on the discourses of social identities embedded in the (re)production of data in
educational research. Drawing from sociohistorical methods and bibliometrics, I
examine three distinct, yet interrelated, domains. First, I explore the construction of
datasets used in postsecondary research, including a federal dataset (the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System) and a private nationally-representative survey of
students (The Freshman Survey). Secondly, I consider the uses of data emerging from
these databases by examining 21,069 peer-reviewed articles published in eleven
journals of educational research. Lastly, I examine the discursive practices of of social
identities in the context of a specific postsecondary institution (East University, a
pseudonym), where I connect administrators’ perspectives on demographic data
collection practices with emerging federal standards. Findings suggest that there is a need for increased critical data literacy to understand the points of convergence
between the conceptual framing of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender
identity. I suggest a need for more coalitional politics in the production of educational
research as a strategy to enhance how social identities are understood in contemporary
educational research
