The 2010 CensusThe 2010 CensusAlternative Questionnaire Experiment Alternative Questionnaire Experiment Race and Hispanic OriginRace and Hispanic Origin ResearchResearch

Joan M. Hill and Sonya Rastogi

U.S. Census Bureau

Presentation toState Data Center and Census

Information Center Steering CommitteesJune 16, 2010

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Overview of Presentation TopicsOverview of Presentation Topics

• 2010 AQE Goals and Research Strategies

• Methodology and Sample Design

• Race and Hispanic Origin Panels

• Reinterview Study

• Focus Groups

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2010 AQE Goals2010 AQE Goalsand Research Strategiesand Research Strategies

• Goals are to increase accuracy, completeness, and reliability of 2020 race and Hispanic origin results

• Designed to identify strategies for improving race and Hispanic origin reporting by testing different questionnaire design strategies

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2010 AQE Methodology2010 AQE Methodology

• Expert review and cognitive testing for race and

Hispanic origin questions prior to field testing

• 15 experimental panels

• Experimental forms mailed to a national sample of

housing units – 30,000 housing units per panel

• Initial questionnaire non-respondents receive a

replacement questionnaire (mimics initial contact)

• Telephone reinterview study conducted for sample of

2010 AQE mail respondents

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2010 AQE Sample2010 AQE Sample• Design focuses on significant oversampling of mailout to various demographic groups

• Universe consists of census tracts likely to contain relatively high proportions of these groups

- Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- Black or African American- Hispanic or Latino- All other

• Final sample is 30,000 housing units per panel selected from these strata

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2010 Census - Control Panel

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• Modify examples

• Remove the term “Negro”

• Allow reporting of multiple responses to the Hispanic origin question

Design Strategy 1

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• Clarify the Asian and the Pacific Islander checkbox categories

• Limit the use of

the term “race”

Design Strategy 2

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Design Strategy 3

Combine the race and Hispanic origin questions:

• Detailed approach

• Streamlined approach

• Very Streamlined approach

• Alternative Control approach

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• Includes examples and

write-ins for all OMB

race and Hispanic

origin categories

• Maintains all original

race and Hispanic

origin checkboxes

Detailed Approach

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Streamlined Approach

• Includes examples and write-ins for all OMB race and Hispanic origin categories

• Removes specific national origin checkboxes; presented as example groups

• Streamlined presentation of OMB race, Hispanic origin categories

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Very Streamlined Approach

• Part 1 - Very streamlined presentation of OMB race, Hispanic origin categories

• Part 2 - Examples for all OMB race and Hispanic origin categories

• Write-in areas for specific race(s), origin(s), or tribe(s)

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• Serves as an alternative

control for the combined

race and Hispanic origin

design approach

• Maintains 2010 Census

race and Hispanic origin

questions’ write-in areas

and checkboxes, but in

a combined, single

question format

Alternative Control

Approach

2010 AQE Reinterview Study

• One-in-five housing units from the

2010 AQE panels will be pre-selected

for a reinterview study

• Assess the relative accuracy of the

experimental 2010 AQE race and

Hispanic origin panels

• Probe more extensively into the racial

and ethnic background of respondents

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2010 AQE Focus Groups2010 AQE Focus Groups

• Focus groups will supplement 2010 AQE

quantitative research

• Gain better understanding of self-identification

of race and Hispanic origin and fit of responses

within OMB categories

• Identify issues that respondents have with

experimental treatments; reasons behind issues

• Help refine treatments for future testing

Summary of 2010 AQE• Increase accuracy, completeness, and reliability of race and Hispanic origin results

• Three-part design strategy: - mailout survey- reinterview- focus groups

• The 2010 AQE race and Hispanic origin research is designed to identify strategies for improving race and Hispanic origin reporting in the future

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Questions?

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