Data Accuracy in filling out forms

Filling out a document, whether it be for academic enrolment, insurance, or signing up for government mandated identification. The collection of personal data is an essential component of authenticating oneself legally. The accuracy of the information being put on these forms is crucial to ensuring that the individual in question is represented correctly in the eye of the law. However, time and again, many of us find ourselves in a situation where we must fill out the Ethnicity subsection of the form and are unable to find our ethnic region present. Instead, we select an option that we feel is “good enough.”

By doing so, we mislabel ourselves for the sake of convenience. While it may seem like a trivial situation on our end, incorrect data labelling such as this cascades the more individuals partake in it, leading to mass inaccuracy in, for example, the number of people of a particular community that reside in New Zealand.

The government of a country is less likely to carry out legislation in favour of a particular community if they feel there aren’t enough members of that community in the country to warrant a need for the law. The more people mislabel themselves out of convenience, the lower that chance of legislative recognition gets. In addition, the lower the chances of all individuals being able to select their own ethnicity on those forms, because why would the institutions alter their forms if they don’t see a need for it?

In most, if not all these forms, there is an option to select Other, and in many of these, there is a little space to enter in your ethnicity. We ask for people to take that little extra motivation to alter this.

Fill in your ethnicity, so that those creating the forms know that they should modify them to prevent applicants from going through this hassle repeatedly. Fill in your ethnicity, so that the data about your community is made more accurate. Fill in your ethnicity, so that your community does not miss out on important legislation because the government didn’t feel there was enough of you to warrant it. Fill in your ethnicity, the trickle-down effects of your actions will be more than “good enough”.

About the Author:

This article was written by Mohammad Hassaan Mirza, Assistant Editor of Sangam Magazine, English section.