Radio Survey Bulletin,
Summer 2006
Personal Race/Ethnicity
Effective with the Winter 2006 survey, Arbitron began classifying the race and ethnicity of diarykeepers based on the individual diarykeeper’s answer to a new question that was added to the diary.
Race and ethnicity are used as weighting criteria in the 179 Arbitron radio Metros that have Black and/or Hispanic controls and are also the basis for ethnic composition audience estimates.
Historically, Arbitron classified diarykeepers as Black or Hispanic based on the response to a household-level question. Classifying race and ethnicity of diarykeepers based on the individual diarykeeper’s response to race and ethnicity questions, instead of a household response, is more appropriate because of the realities of mixed-race and mixed-ethnicity households.
If you have any questions, or if you need any additional information regarding Arbitron’s Personal Race/Ethnicity policy, please contact Michelle Robinson at (410) 312-8487 or via e-mail at michelle.robinson@arbitron.com.
