Abstract
Lack of clarity and questionable congruence between researcher and participant understandings of ethnicity and race challenge the validity and impact of research utilizing these concepts. We aimed to both elucidate the multiple meanings that research participants in the United States might bring to questions about ethnicity and race and examine their relation to formal conceptualizations of these variables. We used consensual qualitative research-modified analyses to conduct thematic content analysis of 151 responses to open-ended survey questions about meanings of ethnicity and race. Participants included a racially diverse sample of 53 males, 87 females, and 11 unidentified gender with a mean age of 28.71 years. Results indicated that the most frequent colloquial meanings of ethnicity included origin, culture, ancestry, related or similar to race, social similarity, religion, and identity. The most frequent colloquial meanings of race included physical characteristics, ethnicity, origin, social grouping, ancestry, and imposed categorization. Results also illustrated how participants approached defining ethnicity and race. Results support the acknowledged and critiqued colloquial confounding of ethnicity and race and indicate a lack of agreed upon meaning between lay representations/meanings and formal meanings used by social scientists. This incongruence threatens valid operationalizations for research and challenges our ability to use these concepts in interventions to promote social justice and psychological health.
Highlights
Both ethnicity and race are social constructions.1 This means that the meanings of both concepts are developed within a given society’s cultural context (Mukhopadhyay et al 2014)
Consensual qualitative research-modified (CQR-M) analyses indicated that responses addressed the intended question: “how do you define ethnicity and race?” and demonstrated variability in the process through which participants approached answering the question and, in some cases, spontaneously commented on the functions or effects of ethnicity and race
Results support that colloquial understandings of ethnicity and race include a wide range of possible meanings that may or may not agree with formal conceptual definitions describing ethnicity as a concept focused oncultural similarities related to ancestral and geographical descent and race as a concept related to physical characteristics and social distinction and hierarchy (Markus 2008; McGoldrick et al 2005; Omi and Winant 1994; Smedley and Smedley 2005; Suyemoto 2002)
Summary
Both ethnicity and race are social constructions. This means that the meanings of both concepts are developed within a given society’s cultural context (Mukhopadhyay et al 2014). The complexity of the meaning of “social construction” generally, the historical development of meanings of ethnicity and race, and their functions or purpose in relation to creating hierarchies of power, privilege, and oppression are beyond the scope of this article. Groups that are categorized within these concepts develop group meanings reflected in social identities (see overview of sociological and psychological approaches to social identities in (Thoits and Virshup 1997)). These categories become institutionalized, in social discourse, and in formal institutions that impose demands of a priori determined self-categorization (e.g., the U.S census categories) that have and use a priori meanings and associations to justify (implicitly or explicitly) institutional practices
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
