Appendix 4 Stage 3 topic guide
Topic guide
Scottish Executive - Ethnic Identity
Data Providers
Aims of the project - Overall aim: To inform the development of a classification of ethnic identity which would be acceptable to individuals whilst providing data users with an approach that meets their needs
- Examine how individuals classify themselves
- Explore the reasoning behind such classifications and perceptions of why questions on ethnicity are asked
- Examine the adequacy of current methods of classification and attitudes towards these
- Explore other ways of classifying data on ethnicity - single vs. multiple questions
Examine ideas for consultation approaches about ethnic identity classification frameworks in the future |
10. INTRODUCTION
- About BMRB
- About the research
- Commissioned by the Scottish Executive to examine issues relating to ethnic identity and how people see themselves
- Two parts - asking data providers how they would like to be classified, while asking data users what their needs are in terms of producing usable data
- Aim is to develop classification that both data providers and users are happy with
- Length of interview - 60 minutes (up to 2 hours if an interpreter is being used)
- Confidentiality - from Scottish Executive/data users
- Tape Recording - tapes not available to the Scottish Executive but only to the research team
(Note: please record instances where the respondent has difficulty answering the question, finds it difficult to provide precise information or is reluctant to disclose information.)
11. GENERAL BACKGROUND
- Can they tell us a bit about themselves (age, children, where live, how long lived there etc.)
12. CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF OWN ETHNICITY
- What does "ethnicity" mean to them
- How would they describe themselves if someone asked them about their ethnicity
- Probe on:
- Colour
- Ethnicity
- Country/countries identified with (and relationship to these e.g. country of residence, country of birth, parents'/grandparents' country/ies of birth)
- Religion/belief
- Language
- Culture
- For all the above, probe for influences they have and factors they bring in
- Perceptions of whether they feel they have a "single" ethnic identity versus a "multiple" ethnic identity"
- Why have they chosen to describe themselves in this way (ask about categories not used)
- Relative importance of different categories
- Extent to which the way they describe themselves changes according to who they are with
- Is this just the wording or do they describe themselves in a different way
- Probe on:
- With people who are of same ethnicity
- With people of different ethnicity
- People own age (of same/different ethnicity)
- People different ages (of same/different ethnicity)
- Official context/Formally
- Informally
- What about other people of the same ethnicity - different ways they describe themselves
- Does this vary with different people ( e.g. older/younger people)
13. ATTITUDES TOWARDS DATA COLLECTION
- Which organisations can they think of that collect data on ethnicity
- Views on:
- Why they do this
- What they use it for
- Any variations between organisations they can remember
- Attitude towards being asked to describe their ethnicity
- Probe: extent to which this varies according to the organisation/intended use
- Can they recall any instances when they were asked to classify their ethnicity
- How did they react
- Adequacy of the categories used
- Attitude towards categories used
- Views on the reason they were asked (was a reason given)
14. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATIONS
- Show different methods of classification, one at a time
- For each method:
- Why do they think data is being collected like this
- How would they classify themselves
- What are the strengths of this classification
- What are the weaknesses of this classification
- What would they think if they were asked to classify themselves in this way
- Changes they would make
15. IDEAL METHOD OF CLASSIFYING DATA PROVIDERS
- If they were designing their ideal method of classification, what would it be (give respondent a blank sheet of paper and pen and get them to talk through each category, why they have chosen to categorise in this way.
- Explore inconsistencies, e.g. geographical - "Asian" - categories vs. colour-based - "Black" - categories).
- Attitude to single vs. multiple questions on ethnicity.
- Strengths of collecting data in the way they have designed
- Weaknesses of collecting data in the way they have designed
- How would they describe themselves according to this framework
- What would they feel if they were asked to do this
16. CONSULTATION PROCESS/METHODS/APPROACH
- Show leaflet
- What do they think about the fact that there is a consultation process underway
- Views on approach
- How would they suggest people are asked about their ethnic identity
17. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS / QUESTIONS FOR THE RESEARCHER
THANK AND CLOSE