Measurement of Hispanic Ethnicity in the U.S. Census: An Evaluation Based on Latent-Class Analysis
比较了美国人口普查模型与潜在类别模型在评估族裔测量中的表现，发现当回答类别有效性未知时，潜在类别方法更优，并否定了普查模型关于西班牙裔问题回答基于单一维度的假设。
Abstract Two models, the U.S. census model and the latent-class model, are compared in their application to evaluating measurements of ethnicity. Although the census approach assumes that the response categories of a questionnaire item correspond to groups in the population, the latent-class approach seeks to assess whether any set of response categories can represent observed ethnic heterogeneity. Data collected using the 1990 census Hispanic-origin question and other instruments for measuring ethnicity suggest that the latent-class approach is superior whenever the response categories are not known to be valid. In particular, using the latent-class model, this article rejects the census model's assumption of a single dimension of meaning underlying responses to the Hispanic-origin question.