Race and Ethnicity Measurement and Reporting

Race is defined as a human population considered distinct based on inherited physical characteristics. It is important to note, however, that race is predominantly a social construct, and that genetic science has determined that only 2 percent of our genes are ultimately responsible for the visible differences such as skin color.

Ethnicity is a term that refers to social groups with a shared history, sense of identity, geography and cultural roots which may occur despite racial differences. Ethnicity shapes a group's culture - food, language, music, and customs. We all have an ethnicity, but the term is often used only in reference to persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity versus those of non-Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.(1)


Contents
1 National Standards for Race Measurement
1977 OMB Standard
1997 OMB Standard
Reporting by "Race Alone"
Reporting by "Race Alone or in Combination"
2 Bridged Race Estimates
3 NMDOH Race Reporting Guidelines
4 Deciding How to Report Race and Ethnicity

References


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National Standards for Race Measurement


The U.S. Census Bureau collects race and Hispanic ethnicity as separate constructs. As a result, an individual has both a race and an Hispanic ethnicity designation (e.g., White Hispanic, White, non-Hispanic, Black Hispanic). This excerpt from the Federal Register (2) describes the OMB's intent.

Federal Register Notice October 30, 1997, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
To provide flexibility and ensure data quality, separate questions shall be used wherever feasible for reporting race and ethnicity. When race and ethnicity are collected separately, ethnicity shall be collected first. If race and ethnicity are collected separately, the minimum designations are:

Race:

  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Black or African American
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • White

Ethnicity:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Not Hispanic or Latino



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1977 Federal Office of Management of Budget (OMB) Standard


Prior to 2000, the standard for collection of race data was to ask for the individual's primary race. This standard was released in 1977 in DIRECTIVE NO. 15, RACE AND ETHNIC STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL STATISTICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING (3).

Race Categories in the 1977 OMB Standard
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian or Pacific Islander
  • Black
  • White


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1997 OMB Standard


In 1997, the OMB released a new minimum standard (2) for maintaining, collecting, and presenting data on race and ethnicity for all Federal reporting purposes, effective October 30, 1997. The new standard, implemented in the 2000 decennial census, requires that individuals be asked to check all racial and ethnic categories that apply to them. In addition to multiple reporting, the "Asian or Pacific Islander" group was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander." The "Black" category was renamed, "Black or African American" and the term "Hispanic" was to be changed to "Hispanic or Latino." The OMB defines the race and ethnicity categories as follows:

Race Category Definitions

  • American Indian or Alaska Native. 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.
  • Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in addition to "Black or African American."
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
  • White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
  • Hispanic or Latino is defined as follows: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term, "Spanish origin," can be used in addition to "Hispanic or Latino."

Race data that have been collected using the 1997 standard may be reported in different ways.

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◊ Reporting by "Race Alone"


For reporting by "Race Alone," respondents who checked only one race are reported in that race category and respondents who checked more than one race are reported in a category labeled, "Two or more races." The categories are mutually exclusive, and the resulting tabulations should sum to the total population count.

Reporting Categories for the 1997 OMB Standard, "Race Alone" Reporting Method
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Black or African-American
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • White
  • Two or more races


Table 1: 2008 U.S. Census Bureau New Mexico Population Estimates by "Race Alone"



Race Alone 		Population
Estimates
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 192,235
Asian alone 27,884
Black or African American alone 59,009
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 2,854
White alone 1,666,790
Two or more races 35,584
TOTAL 1,984,356
Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Downloaded from http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff on June 22, 2009
Note: The figures in this table are from the U.S. Census Bureau. They have been used here for illustration of race reporting concepts. For public health reporting purposes, the New Mexico Department of Health uses population estimates produced by the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). The BBER estimates are available on the NM-IBIS query system.


Table 2: 2008 U.S. Census Bureau New Mexico Population Estimates by "Race Alone" and Hispanic Ethnicity



Race Alone 		Hispanic or Latino Not Hispanic or Latino
TOTAL
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 20,620 171,615 192,235
Asian alone 3,412 24,472 27,884
Black or African American alone 16,426 42,583 59,009
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 1,477 1,377 2,854
White alone 838,553 828,237 1,666,790
Two or more races 10,525 25,059 35,584
TOTAL 891,013 1,093,343 1,984,356
Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Downloaded from http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff on June 22, 2009
Note: The figures in this table are from the U.S. Census Bureau. They have been used here for illustration of race reporting concepts. For public health reporting purposes, the New Mexico Department of Health uses population estimates produced by the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). The BBER estimates are available on the NM-IBIS query system.


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◊ Reporting by "Race Alone or in Combination"


For reporting by "Race Alone or in Combination," respondents who checked only one race are reported in that race category and respondents who checked more than one race are reported in EACH of the race categories that were checked. Because a multi-racial individual is reported in more than one race category, the categories are not mutually exclusive, and the resulting tabulations will sum to a figure that is greater than the total population count.

Reporting categories for the "Race Alone or in Combination" reporting method
  • American Indian or Alaska Native Alone or in Combination
  • Asian Alone or in Combination
  • Black or African-American Alone or in Combination
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Alone or in Combination
  • White Alone or in Combination


Table 3: 2008 U.S. Census Bureau New Mexico Population Estimates by "Race Alone or in Combination"


Race Alone or in Combination Population
Estimates (1)
American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more other races 211,178
Asian alone or in combination with one or more other races 37,715
Black or African American alone or in combination with one or more other races 69,336
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races 4,820
White alone or in combination with one or more other races 1,699,167
TOTAL 1,984,356
Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Downloaded from http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff on June 22, 2009
(1) The estimates do not sum to the total. (Individuals may be counted in more than one row.)
Note: The figures in this table are from the U.S. Census Bureau. They have been used here for illustration of race reporting concepts. For public health reporting purposes, the New Mexico Department of Health uses population estimates produced by the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). The BBER estimates are available on the NM-IBIS query system.


In addition, Census 2000 also reported 63 categories for race, including both single race categories (e.g., "White alone," "Asian alone"), and all possible combinations of the multirace categories (e.g., "American Indian and White," "Asian and White," "Black or African American and White," "American Indian or Alaska Native and Black or African American").


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Bridged Race Estimates


Data collected using the 1997 standard are not directly comparable to those that were collected using the 1977 standard. To permit trend analysis, a methodology was developed to "bridge" population estimates that were collected using the 1997 standard back to the categories used in the 1977 standard. The bridging methodology (4) applies a statistical model to individuals' responses that were collected using the 1997 standaard and converts those responses to what they may have said had they been using the old single race categories from the 1977 standard. This presents yet another option for presentation of race data that were collected using the 1997 OMB standard, known as the "bridged race" method.

Table 4: 2010 New Mexico Population Estimates by Bridged Race and Hispanic Ethnicity



Race 		Hispanic or Latino Not Hispanic or Latino
TOTAL
American Indian and Alaska Native 39,528 181,611 221,139
Asian or Pacific Islander 7,632 30,716 38,347
Black or African American 16,048 42,190 58,239
White 897,601 849,844 1,747,445
TOTAL 960,809 1,104,363 2,065,171
Source: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.


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New Mexico Department of Health Race Reporting Guidelines


The New Mexico Department of Health has defined state standards for Reporting Race and Ethnicity. Data systems in New Mexico collect race and ethnicity data using the 1997 OMB standard, but for the purposes of presentation, race and ethnicity are presented together using the following five major categories/labels:

NMDOH Race and Ethnicity Reporting Standards
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian or Pacific Islander
  • Black or African American
  • Hispanic
  • White


Table 5: 2011 GPS New Mexico Population Estimates by Race and Ethnicity



Race/Ethnicity 		Population
Estimates
American Indian and Alaska Native 222,514
Asian or Pacific Islander 38,609
Black or African American 58,616
Hispanic 902,478
White 861,508
TOTAL 2,083,725
Source: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program. Downloaded from the NM-IBIS query system on March 29, 2013.


The New Mexico reporting standard uses the estimates by bridged race and Hispanic ethnicity. Presentation of race and ethnicity will be done together in the same table. Race/ethnicity will be viewed as a single social and cultural construct. Persons designated as Hispanic ethnicity, regardless of race, will be categorized as 'Hispanic.' Persons not designated as Hispanic will be categorized by their single race ('Black or African American,' 'American Indian or Alaska native,' 'Asian or Pacific Islander,' 'White,' or 'Other'). For more information, please see the NMDOH Race and Ethnicity Reporting Standards.


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Deciding How to Report Race and Ethnicity


"So, which reporting categories should I use!?" Here is a flowchart to help you work through the various decisions about race and ethnicity reporting.

Flow Chart for Race and Ethnicity Reporting Decisions in New Mexico


Race Ethnicity Flow Chart Image

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References


1. Race Relations: Intercultural Skills-Building Resources and Tutorials. Downloaded from http://racerelations.about.com/od/skillsbuildingresources/Intercultural_SkillsBuilding_Resources_and_Tutorials.htm on June 26, 2009.

2. Federal Register Notice October 30, 1997, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. Downloaded from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards/ on June 22, 2009.

3. Federal Register 7/9/97, Part II. Pages 36873-36946. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, Recommendations from the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. Downloaded from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/directive_15.html#chap3 on June 22, 2009.

4. The Bridge Report: Tabulation Options for Trend Analysis. Downloaded from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/information_and_regulatory_affairs/re_app-ctables.pdf on June 22, 2009.



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Content updated: Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:13:00 MDT