Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Robin
The question asked for the respondent's personal definition and included an "other" option, allowing as much specificity as could be fitted in 100 characters, precisely to accommodate the wide variety of responses possible. I'm used to answering "other" to that very question in surveys because of my own background. Listing all 190+ member states of the UN as separate ethnic/cultural options seemed a mite unwieldy, and would definitely have pushed the survey's average completion time well past the 90 seconds or so that it took those who completed it.
It seems that with very few exceptions exceptions those most troubled by or who had the most trouble with that question all reside in North America, and almost all are people who choose to self-identify as "white". The question followed a pattern that is standard in most non-country-specific global surveys I've participated in before, including many run by US-based research companies. The ardor of the reactions it has caused has been quite fascinating as an unexpected sociological study all on its own.
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I understand this is apparently standard survey terminology where you are from so you didn't expect it to confuse anyone.
In the US we are used to surveys that ask for race/ethnicity with choices typically including White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American. These days surveys often have a choice for "other" to accommodate people who don't identify with any of the listed categories. There is also often an option to skip the question altogether.
I think of "Europe" as a large area of many nations and cultures that could include people of various races.