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Citizenship question effects on household survey response
J David Brown1, Misty L Heggeness2
1Senior Researcher for Economic Demography, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, USA.
Summary
Differential census coverage disproportionately affects minority groups. A randomized control trial survey revealed that including a citizenship question widened response gaps, impacting data accuracy for undocumented populations.
Area of Science:
- Demography
- Survey Methodology
- Sociology
Background:
- Differential coverage in censuses and surveys compromises data accuracy and representativeness.
- Community-level analyses obscure patterns for smaller demographic groups.
- Household-level analysis of citizenship and immigration status is crucial for understanding coverage gaps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of a citizenship question on survey response rates and coverage across different demographic groups.
- To analyze household-level response behavior using administrative records.
- To explain discrepancies between administrative and survey-based population data.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a randomized control trial (RCT) survey.
- Constructed household-level characteristics using administrative records for all addresses.
- Analyzed self-response rates and household roster omission rates.
Main Results:
- Self-response rates varied significantly, with a 42.9 percentage point gap between households of U.S.-born non-Hispanic Whites and those with likely undocumented individuals.
- Including the citizenship question widened this gap by 2.4 percentage points.
- Household roster omission rates were substantially higher in households with likely undocumented members, especially with the citizenship question.
Conclusions:
- The citizenship question exacerbates coverage disparities in decennial census questionnaires.
- Household-level analysis reveals significant undercoverage of non-citizen populations in survey data.
- Findings help explain why administrative records often show higher non-citizen counts than official statistics.
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