Findings on Questions on Race and Hispanic Origin Tested in
the 1996 National Content Survey
Staff of the Special Population Statistics
Population Division
U.S. Bureau of the Census
Washington, DC 20233-8800
December 1996
Population Division Working Paper No. 16
This paper reports the general results of research undertaken by Census Bureau Staff. The views
expressed are attributable to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Census
Bureau.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This report was prepared in Population Division by Roderick Harrison,
Chief, Racial Statistics Branch, Manuel de la Puente, Chief, Ethnic and
Hispanic Statistics Branch, and Claudette Bennett of the Racial
Statistics Branch. Nampeo McKenney, Assistant Division Chief for
Special Population Statistics, Population Division provided overall direction for the report.
Henry Woltman, Assistant Division Chief for Nonsampling Error
Measurement, Deborah Griffin, Staff Group Leader, Mary
Davis, and Joan Hill of the Decennial Statistical Studies
Division made significant contributions to the statistical methodology section provided in
Appendix C.
The Decennial Management Division coordinated and directed all census operations, including
the
processing of the data. Karen Mills of the Decennial Management
Division provided editorial assistance.
Joan Hill and Mary Davis of Decennial
Statistical Studies Division provided programming and statistical analysis assistance. The staff
of
the Special Population Statistics Program Area made many contributions to the preparation of
this
report. In particular, Barbara Martin, Kymberly
DeBarros, and Rosalyn Green of Population Division
programmed the data for the tables; and Paula Vines, Rhonda Carney, Debbie Niner,
Barbara Martin, Linda Chase, Margaret Applekamp, Mary Kennedy, Deborah Carroll, Leigh
Zarbough, Edna Paisano and John Reed provided
professional, statistical , and clerical assistance. The report was reviewed by
Elizabeth Martin, Campbell Gibson, Louisa Miller, Patricia Johnson, Greg
Robinson, and other Census Bureau staff.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Summary of Major Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background on the Office of Management and Budget's
Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Census Bureau's Testing Program of Questions on Race and Ethnicity.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
National Content Survey Design and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Detailed Findings: Multiracial Category in the Race Question . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Detailed Findings: Sequencing of the Race and Hispanic Origin
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Summary of National Content Survey Findings on Alternative Test
Questions. . . . . . . . . 19
Relationship to Other Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CHARTS
- Issues Included as Test Objectives in 1996 Census Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- Primary National Content Survey Race and Hispanic Origin Panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
- Multiracial Category Test Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
- Alternative Sequencing Test Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
TEXT TABLES
APPENDIXES
A. | 1996 National Content Survey Race and Hispanic Origin
Questions |
B. | 1996 National Content Survey Detailed Tables |
Table 1 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of Mail
Returns by Race and Hispanic Origin for the Race-First Sequence: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 2 | Multiracial Category -- Rate of Disagreement by
Race and Hispanic Origin for the Race-First Sequence: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 3 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of Mail
Returns by Race and Hispanic Origin for the Hispanic Origin-First Sequence: 1996 National
Content Survey |
Table 4 | Multiracial Category -- Rate of Disagreement by
Race and Hispanic Origin for the Hispanic Origin-First Sequence: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 5 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns by Race and Hispanic Origin, Without a Multiracial Category: 1996 National
Content Survey |
Table 6 | Alternative Sequencing -- Rate of Disagreement by
Race and Hispanic Origin, Without a Multiracial Category: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 7 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns by Race and Hispanic Origin, With a Multiracial Category: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 8 | Alternative Sequencing -- Rate of disagreement by
Race and Hispanic Origin, With a Multiracial Category: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 9 | Nonresponse Rate and Rate of Disagreement for the
Race Question: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 10 | Nonresponse Rate and Rate of Disagreement for
the Hispanic Origin Question: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 11 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Persons of Hispanic Origin by Race, for the Race-First Sequence: 1996
National Content Survey |
Table 12 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Persons of Hispanic Origin by Race, for the Hispanic Origin-First Sequence:
1996 National Content Survey |
Table 13 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Persons of Hispanic Origin by Race, Without a Multiracial Category: 1996
National Content Survey |
Table 14 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Persons of Hispanic Origin by Race, With a Multiracial Category: 1996
National Content Survey |
Table 15 | Item Nonresponse Rate on Mail Returns on the
Race Question for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Origin Persons: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 16 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Native-Born Persons, for the Race-First Sequence: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 17 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Foreign-Born Persons, for Race-First Sequence: 1996 National Content
Survey |
Table 18 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Native-Born Persons for the Hispanic Origin-First Sequence: 1996 National
Content Survey |
Table 19 | Multiracial Category -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Foreign-Born Persons, for the Hispanic Origin-First Sequence: 1996 National
Content Survey |
Table 20 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Native-Born Persons, by Race and Hispanic Origin, Without a Multiracial
Category: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 21 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Foreign-Born Persons, by Race and Hispanic Origin, Without a Multiracial
Category: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 22 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Native-Born Persons, by Race and Hispanic Origin, With a Multiracial
Category: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 23 | Alternative Sequencing -- Percent Distribution of
Mail Returns for Foreign-Born Persons, by Race and Hispanic Origin, With a Multiracial
Category: 1996 National Content Survey |
Table 24 | Item Nonresponse Rate on Mail Returns for the
Hispanic Origin Question for Native-Born and Foreign-Born Persons: 1996 National Content
Survey |
C. | 1996 National Content Survey Sample Design |
D. | Population Division: Working Paper Series |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division,
Special Populations Staff
Questions? / 1-866-758-1060
Last Revised: July 09, 2008 at 02:51:01 PM