---
"title": "Methodology"
"description": "The analysis in this report is based on a nationally representative online survey conducted by Pew Research Center Jan. 3-13, 2020, among a sample of 3,535 adults 18 years of age or older residing in the United States. This included an oversample of 175 U.S.-born Hispanics and 243 foreign-born Hispanics. The survey was conducted by […]"
"date": "2021-05-14"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "D’Vera Cohn"
    "job_title": "Former Senior Writer/Editor"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/dvera-cohn/"
  -
    "name": "Anna Brown"
    "job_title": "Senior Survey Manager"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/anna-brown/"
  -
    "name": "Mark Hugo Lopez"
    "job_title": "Director, Race and Ethnicity Research"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/mark-hugo-lopez/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/race-and-ethnicity/2021/05/14/2020-census-identity-methodology/"
"categories":
  - "Black Americans"
  - "Hispanics/Latinos"
  - "Racial & Ethnic Identity"
  - "U.S. Census"
  - "White Americans"
"datasets":
  -
    "name": "2020 Census survey #1"
    "url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/dataset/2020-census-survey-1/"
---

# Methodology

The analysis in this report is based on a nationally representative online survey conducted by Pew Research Center Jan. 3-13, 2020, among a sample of 3,535 adults 18 years of age or older residing in the United States. This included an oversample of 175 U.S.-born Hispanics and 243 foreign-born Hispanics. The survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in English and Spanish using KnowledgePanel, its nationally representative online research panel.

[![Weighting dimensions](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/ST_2021.05.14_Census-Identity_M-01.png?w=398){.alignright width=280}](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/race-and-ethnicity/2021/05/14/black-and-hispanic-americans-see-their-origins-as-central-to-who-they-are-less-so-for-white-adults/st_2021-05-14_census-identity_m-01-png/)

KnowledgePanel members are recruited through probability sampling methods and include both those with internet access and those who did not have internet access at the time of their recruitment (KnowledgePanel provides internet access for those who do not have it and, if needed, a device to access the internet when they join the panel). A combination of random-digit dialing (RDD) and address-based sampling (ABS) methodologies have been used to recruit panel members (in 2009 KnowledgePanel switched its sampling methodology for recruiting panel members from RDD to ABS). The panel includes households with landlines and cellular phones, including those only with cellphones, and those without a phone. Both the RDD and ABS samples were provided by Marketing Systems Group.

KnowledgePanel continually recruits new panel members throughout the year to offset panel attrition as people leave the panel. All active adult members of the Ipsos panel were eligible for inclusion in this study. In all, 5,797 panelists were invited to take part in the survey, for a study completion rate of 61.2%. All sampled members received an initial email to notify them of the survey and provide a link to the survey questionnaire. Additional follow-up reminders were sent to those who had not yet responded as needed.

The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition is 4.0%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged onto the survey and completed at least one item is 5.4%.

The data were weighted in a multistep process that begins with a base weight incorporating the respondents’ original selection probability. The next step in the weighting uses an iterative technique that aligns the sample to population benchmarks on the dimensions listed in the accompanying table.

Sampling errors and test of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting. Interviews are conducted in both English and Spanish.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:

[![Unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/ST_2021.05.14_Census-Identity_M-02.png?w=640){.aligncenter width=416}](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/race-and-ethnicity/2021/05/14/black-and-hispanic-americans-see-their-origins-as-central-to-who-they-are-less-so-for-white-adults/st_2021-05-14_census-identity_m-02-png/)

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.

#### Coding of open-ended origin responses

Origins provided in the write-in boxes for those who selected White, Black or “some other race” were coded into five geographic regions according to the country they corresponded with, under the following framework. Mentions of “African American” were coded separately. Up to two mentions of a geographic region were coded, so the totals may add to greater than 100%.

#### Americas

American\
Anguilla\
Antigua and Barbuda\
Aruba\
Bahamas\
Barbados\
British Virgin Islands\
Caribbean Netherlands\
Cayman Islands\
Cuba\
Curacao\
Dominica\
Dominican Republic\
Grenada\
Guadeloupe\
Haiti\
Jamaica\
Martinique\
Montserrat\
Puerto Rico\
Sint Maarten\
St. Barthelemy\
St. Kitts and Nevis\
St. Lucia\
St. Martin\
St. Vincent and the Grenadines\
Trinidad and Tobago\
Turks and Caicos Islands\
U.S. Virgin Islands\
Belize\
Costa Rica\
El Salvador\
Guatemala\
Hispanic\
Honduras\
Latino\
Mexico\
Nicaragua\
Panama\
Argentina\
Bolivia\
Brazil\
Chile\
Colombia\
Ecuador\
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)\
French Guiana\
Guyana\
Paraguay\
Peru\
Suriname\
Uruguay\
Venezuela\
Bermuda\
Canada\
Greenland\
St. Pierre and Miquelon\
United States

#### Asia

Azerbaijan\
Kazakhstan\
Kyrgyzstan\
Tajikistan\
Turkmenistan\
Uzbekistan\
Brunei\
Burma (Myanmar)\
Cambodia\
China\
Hong Kong\
Indonesia\
Japan\
Laos\
Macao\
Malaysia\
Mongolia\
North Korea\
Papua New Guinea\
Philippines\
Singapore\
South Korea\
Taiwan\
Thailand\
Timor-Leste\
Vietnam\
American Samoa\
Australia\
Cook Islands\
Federated States of Micronesia\
Fiji\
French Polynesia\
Guam\
Kiribati\
Marshall Islands\
Nauru\
New Caledonia\
New Zealand\
Niue\
Northern Mariana Islands\
Palau\
Samoa\
Solomon Islands\
Tokelau\
Tonga\
Tuvalu\
Vanuatu\
Wallis and Futuna\
Afghanistan\
Bangladesh\
Bhutan\
India\
Maldives\
Nepal\
Pakistan\
Sri Lanka

#### Europe

Albania\
Armenia\
Belarus\
Bosnia-Herzegovina\
Bulgaria\
Caucasian\
Croatia\
Czech Republic\
Estonia\
Georgia\
Hungary\
Kosovo\
Latvia\
Lithuania\
Moldova\
Montenegro\
North Macedonia\
Poland\
Romania\
Russia\
Serbia\
Slovakia\
Slovenia\
Ukraine\
Andorra\
Austria\
Belgium\
Channel Islands\
Cyprus\
Denmark\
Faeroe Islands\
Finland\
France\
Germany\
Gibraltar\
Greece\
Iceland\
Ireland\
Isle of Man\
Italy\
Liechtenstein\
Luxembourg\
Malta\
Monaco\
Netherlands\
Norway\
Portugal\
San Marino\
Spain\
Sweden\
Switzerland\
United Kingdom\
Vatican City

#### Middle East-North Africa

Algeria\
Libya\
Morocco\
Sudan\
Tunisia\
Western Sahara\
Bahrain\
Egypt\
Iran\
Iraq\
Israel\
Jordan\
Kuwait\
Lebanon\
Oman\
Palestinian territories\
Qatar\
Saudi Arabia\
Syria\
Turkey\
United Arab Emirates\
Yemen

#### Sub-Saharan Africa

Angola\
Benin\
Botswana\
Burkina Faso\
Burundi\
Cameroon\
Cape Verde\
Central African Republic\
Chad\
Comoros\
Democratic Republic of the Congo\
Djibouti\
Equatorial Guinea\
Eritrea\
Ethiopia\
Gabon\
Gambia\
Ghana\
Guinea\
Guinea-Bissau\
Ivory Coast\
Kenya\
Lesotho\
Liberia\
Madagascar\
Malawi\
Mali\
Mauritania\
Mauritius\
Mayotte\
Mozambique\
Namibia\
Niger\
Nigeria\
Republic of the Congo\
Reunion\
Rwanda\
Sao Tome and Principe\
Senegal\
Seychelles\
Sierra Leone\
Somalia\
South Africa\
South Sudan\
Swaziland\
Tanzania\
Togo\
Uganda\
Zambia\
Zimbabwe