| Table 1 |
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| Description of Focus Groups: Evaluation, Location, and Variation |
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| Race or Ethnic Group |
Detailed Race or Ethnic Group |
Evaluation of Race and Hispanic Origin Treatment/Strategy |
Suggested Location and Within Focus Group Variation |
Number of Focus Groups |
| WHITE |
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9 |
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Middle Eastern and North African |
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (1997) defines the category White as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa." However, respondents of Middle Eastern and North African descent do not necessarily self-identify their race as White. We will test the use of Middle Eastern and North African examples, such as "Lebanese" and "Egyptian" for the White category to evaluate whether examples help respondents identify within OMB defined categories. A qualitative analysis will help us better understand why the examples work or do not work for Middle Eastern and North African respondents. |
Six focus groups will be conducted with a mix of Middle Eastern and North African respondents. One focus group will be conducted with only Iranians. We suggest that the Iranian focus group and one Middle Eastern/North African focus group be conducted in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is suggested that the remaining Middle Eastern/North African focus groups be conducted in the New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington, DC MSAs. The five Middle Eastern/North African focus groups should include participants such as Lebanese, Egyptians, Jordanians, Moroccans, Palestinians, Syrians, and Algerians. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
6 |
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European White |
Focus groups for European whites will help us evaluate the use of the examples "German" and "Irish" for the White category. We will also gain insights in how respondents of European descent view the inclusion of "Egyptian" and "Lebanese" examples for the White category. In addition, we will evaluate the White origin write-in response. |
We suggest that one focus group be conducted in the Los Angeles MSA, one in the Chicago MSA, and the other focus group be conducted in the New York City MSA. Focus groups should include participants such as Germans, Irish, Russians, Portuguese, Italians, and Polish. Age, socioeconomic status, gender and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
3 |
| BLACK |
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11 |
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African American |
Focus groups will help us evaluate the removal of the term "Negro." In addition, focus groups will allow us to evaluate the example "African American" for the "Black, African Am., or Negro" category. They will also allow us to evaluate how African Americans view the inclusion of the examples "Haitian" and "Nigerian." In addition, they will help us evaluate the Black write-in box by gaining a deeper understanding of how African Americans view their origins. We will also use this opportunity to get feedback about the use of "African Am." on the questionnaire. While this is not currently something we are testing, it may be an item to test during the 2020 testing cycle. |
We suggest that one focus group be conducted in the Washington, DC MSA, one in the Chicago MSA, and the other focus group be conducted in the Atlanta MSA. Age, socioeconomic status, gender and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
3 |
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African countries excluding North Africa |
Respondents of African descent often do not identify with the "Black, African Am., or Negro" category. Focus groups will allow us to evaluate whether the example "Nigerian" will help respondents identify with this category. |
We suggest having the four focus groups in the following MSAs, Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The focus groups should include participants such as Cape Verdeans, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis, and Sudanese. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
4 |
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Caribbean |
Respondents of Afro-Caribbean descent often do not identify with the "Black, African Am., or Negro" category. Focus groups will allow us to evaluate whether the example "Haitian" will help respondents identify with this category. |
We suggest having the four focus groups in the following MSAs, New York City, Miami, Washington, DC, and Boston. The focus groups should include participants such as Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans, Trinidadians and Tobagons, and Barbadians. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
4 |
| HISPANIC |
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Focus groups will allow us to understand how Hispanic respondents view the combined questions. They will also help us evaluate the use of different examples. For instance, we will evaluate the use of "Argentinean, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and so on" compared to "Dominican, Salvadoran, Colombian, Spaniard, and so on." In addition, we will evaluate the effect of the instructions to "mark one or more origins" for the Hispanic origin question. We will also use this opportunity to get feedback about the use of "Mexican Am." on the questionnaire. While this is not currently something we are testing, it may be an item to test during the 2020 testing cycle. |
We suggest having the seven focus groups in the following MSAs, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City (2 groups), Charlotte, Chicago, and Brownsville (Texas). The focus groups in Charlotte and Brownsville will be conducted in Spanish. The focus groups should include groups such as Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Nicaraguans, and Hondurans. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
7 |
| PUERTO RICO |
Hispanic |
Focus groups will allow us to gain some initial insights in Puerto Rico about the AQE mailout/mailback questionnaires prior to mid-decade testing, since we have no 2010 testing in Puerto Rico. This is particularly important since many respondents in Puerto Rico have considerable difficulty responding to the Hispanic origin and race questions. |
We suggest one focus group in San Juan and an additional focus group with a location TBD once the contract is awarded. |
2 |
| AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVES |
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15 |
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American Indians living on reservations |
The AQE is not being conducted in update enumerate, therefore, it is important that we conduct focus groups on reservations so we can truly evaluate the effect of examples on American Indians. In particular, we will evaluate the effect that the example "Navajo" has on American Indians living on reservations. Focus groups will also allow us to evaluate the meaning of "principal tribe" among respondents. Previous studies suggest that the word "principal" does not resonate with respondents. While not a part of our current AQE evaluation, this may be a refinement during the 2020 testing cycle. |
One focus group will be conducted on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Ft. Bertold, North Dakota. The other focus group will be conducted on the Pasqua Yaqui Reservation in Arizona, near Nogales and South Tucson. Age, socioeconomic status, gender and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
2 |
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American Indians on and off reservations/pueblos/jurisdictions |
While we may have some American Indians living off reservation in the AQE sample, the sample size will likely be small. Also, these focus groups will access American Indians who live on reservations, pueblos, or jurisdictions near urban areas. Theses focus groups will allow us to evaluate the use of the example "Navajo." In addition, we will evaluate the meaning of "principal tribe" among respondents. |
We suggest having five focus groups in the following locations, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, New York City, and Tulsa. The Census Bureau will provide guidance regarding Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York City once the contract has been awarded. In Albuquerque, participants should include those who are American Indian and Hispanic and those who reside on the Sandia and Isleta Pueblos. In Tulsa, focus groups should include such groups as Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, Seminole, multi-race, and those who belong to two or more tribes. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
5 |
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Alaska Natives |
The AQE is not being conducted in update enumerate, therefore, it is important to conduct focus groups among Alaska Natives so we can truly evaluate the effect of the example "Tlingit" on Alaska Native responses. Since Alaska Natives sometimes report corporations instead of villages, focus groups will help us evaluate how the use of examples may help elicit the village name rather than corporation. |
We suggest that five focus groups be conducted in the following locations: Bethel, Unalakleet, and Wasilla, with 2 focus groups conducted in Anchorage. The Census Bureau will provide more guidance about these groups once the Contract is awarded. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
5 |
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Indigenous people from South and Central America |
OMB (1997) defines the "American Indian or Alaska Native" category as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment." For the AQE, we are using the example "Mayan" to help indigenous Latin American respondents self-identify with the OMB definitions. Therefore, focus groups will help us evaluate the use of the example "Mayan" for indigenous Latin American respondents. Indigenous Latin American migration has been increasing, however, this group remains a small proportion of the population. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will have a significant number of indigenous Latin American respondents represented in the quantitative portion of the AQE. Thus, focus groups may be our only vehicle to test the use of the example "Mayan." Focus groups will also allow us to evaluate the meaning of "principal tribe" among respondents. |
We suggest having the three focus groups in the following locations: Indian Town, Florida, and 2 groups in Fresno/Madera, California. The Census Bureau will provide more guidance about these groups once the Contract is awarded. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
3 |
| ASIAN |
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Focus groups will allow us to evaluate modified examples for the Asian population. For instance, we will evaluate the use of "Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on" compared to "Cambodian, Pakistani, Mongolian, and so on." We will also evaluate whether alphabetizing examples has an impact on how respondents view the response categories. In addition, we will evaluate the effect of the spanners for the Asian population.
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We suggest that the seven focus groups be conducted in the following MSAs Los Angeles (2 groups), Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and Honolulu. The focus groups should include groups such as Japanese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
7 |
| NATIVE HAWAIIAN AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER |
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8 |
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Native Hawaiian |
We will evaluate the use of examples and spanners for the Native Hawaiian population. |
We suggest that two focus groups be conducted in Honolulu and the other focus group be conducted in the Los Angeles MSA. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
3 |
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Other Pacific Islander |
Focus groups will allow us to evaluate the use of modified examples. For instance, we will evaluate the use of "Fijian, Tongan, and so on" compared to "Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, and so on." In addition, we will evaluate the use of spanners for the Other Pacific Islander population. |
We suggest that the focus groups be conducted in the following MSAs: Honolulu (2 groups), San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The focus groups should include such groups as Samoans, Tongans, Guamanians, Fijians, and Indo-Fijians. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
5 |
| MULTI-RACIAL |
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Focus groups will allow us to evaluate whether multi-racial respondents find problems with any of the forms. For instance, does one form cause more problems than another form. |
We suggest that the focus groups be conducted in the following MSAs: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC, Honolulu, Chicago, and New York City. The participants should consist of those who are multi-racial/multi-ethnic and parents of children who are multi-racial/multi-ethnic. Focus groups should include participants such as those who identify as White and Black, White and Asian, White and American Indian or Alaska Native, White and Pacific Islander, Black and Asian, Black and American Indian or Alaska Native, Black and Pacific Islander. Those who identify as more than two races should also be included in the focus groups. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
6 |
| GROUPS WHERE ANCESTRY IS DIFFERENT FROM COUNTRY OF ORIGIN |
Examples: Asian Indians in Trinidad or Fiji, Chinese in Jamaica or Peru; those of African ancestry in Latin America |
These types of respondents may have difficulty reporting their race or origin on the 2010 Census form and the AQE treatments. For example, they may understand the question to be asking them about country of origin. In this instance, an Asian Indian from Trinidad may report Trinidadian instead of Asian Indian. We would like to evaluate how these groups respond to different treatments. |
We will work with the Contractor to determine locations for these focus groups. Contractors can base their cost estimates on the New York and Los Angeles MSAs. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, nativity, and other characteristics should also be taken into consideration. The Census Bureau and Contractor will work together to finalize the ethnic and characteristic distribution of focus group participants. |
2 |
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Total |
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67 |
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| References |
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| U.S. Office of Management and Budget, “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,” 1997. |
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| Federal Register Notice, October 30. |
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