Let’s address a few frequently asked questions both at Polco and within the survey industry.
Why do many common U.S. surveys include questions about race and ethnicity? Is it a standard set by the U.S. Census norms? Why not expand the list of ethnic identities within your survey? More specifically, why do we see surveys only inquiring about Spanish, Hispanic and Latino identities and not a broader set of ethnicities/nationalities?
There are a variety of opinions in the world of survey research about the best ways to ask respondents about race and ethnicity. It is important to Polco that individuals who identify as multiracial feel fully represented. We also wanted to ensure that Polco administrators were able to see their results in a way that was both representative and easy to understand.
For these reasons, we changed Polco’s demographic question about race to be multi-select instead of single-select and added an additional demographic question for ethnicity.
We adjusted these categories to match the categories and wording used by the United States Census.
Respondents can select more than one choice if they would like, and administrators will see these responses in the Results tab as “More than one race.”
As with the Census, “an individual’s response to the race question is based upon self-identification. People who identify with more than one race may choose to provide multiple races in response to the race question. For example, if a respondent identifies as "Asian" and "White," they may respond to the question on race by checking the appropriate boxes that describe their racial identities and/or writing in these identities on the spaces provided.”
We updated our wording as follows:
What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race you consider yourself to be.)
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
A race not listed
We also added an ethnicity question to Polco’s demographic questions as follows:
Are you of Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Spanish origin?
No, not of Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Spanish origin
Yes, I consider myself to be of Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Spanish origin
Polco aims to help you view your results with an equity lens. That way, you can ensure that everyone in your community feels heard and represented in your community engagement process.