Reporting Race and Ethnicity

When reporting race and ethnicity, it's important to approach the data carefully, as past inconsistencies in reporting can make interpretation challenging.

On Polco, race and ethnicity are available as demographic fields, but respondents can report this information in various ways depending on personal preferences and available answer options. For example, a person who is both Asian and White might identify as:

• White
• Asian
• Bi-racial
• Multi-racial
• Some other race, ethnicity, or origin (commonly used before "multi-racial" became a standard option)
• Prefer not to answer

As categories for race and ethnicity continue to be standardized, the data will become more consistent. However, there is still some variation in how respondents self-identify, so the data cannot yet be considered fully uniform.

If your survey requires highly reliable race or ethnicity data, consider asking specific questions directly on Polco, in addition to using verified information. Using Polco’s pre-built demographic questions on race and ethnicity is a simple way to gather accurate, reusable data that will attach to respondents’ profiles for future surveys.