title: Measurement of Hispanic ethnicity in the U.S. census:  an evaluation based on latent-class analysis.
abstract: "Two models, the U.S. census model and the latent-class model, are compared in their application to evaluating measurements of ethnicity. Although the census approach assumes that the response categories of a questionnaire item correspond to groups in the population, the latent-class approach seeks to assess whether any set of response categories can represent observed ethnic heterogeneity.  Data collected using the 1990 census Hispanic-origin question and other instruments for measuring ethnicity suggest that the latent-class approach is superior whenever the response categories are not known to be valid.  In particular, using the latent-class model, this article rejects the census model's assumption of a single dimension of meaning underlying responses to the Hispanic-origin question."
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D019352:Censuses; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D005006:Ethnicity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009656:North America; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D012106:Research; D012107:Research Design; D014481:United States; D006801:Humans
keywords: Americas; Census; Comparative Studies; Cultural Background; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Ethnic Groups; Evaluation; Evaluation Report; Hispanics; Measurement; Models, Theoretical; North America; Northern America; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Statistics; Research Methodology; Studies; United States