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. 1994 Jan-Feb;109(1):16–25.

Issues regarding data on race and ethnicity: the Census Bureau experience.

N R McKenney 1, C E Bennett 1
PMCID: PMC1402238  PMID: 8303010

Abstract

In this paper, the authors describe some of the complexities of collecting and presenting data on race and ethnicity based on the experiences of the Bureau of the Census. Different methods of data collection, different content and format of questions, and different definitions make it difficult to collect consistent race and ethnic data across data systems. The Bureau of the Census experiences have shown that changing ethnic self-identity and concepts, intent of the question, consistency of reporting, and the classification of persons of mixed racial parentage affect the quality of the data. These are some of the issues that must be addressed as statistical agencies and researchers seek to provide comparable race and ethnic data.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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