How do the 1997 OMB revised standards differ from the previous standards?
OMB issued the previous standards for maintaining, collecting, and presenting data on race and ethnicity in 1977. The minimum acceptable categories were: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Black, not of Hispanic origin; Hispanic; White, not of Hispanic origin. The 1997 OMB revised standards now include two ethnic categories (Hispanic or Latino or Not Hispanic or Latino) and five racial categories (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White). When using self-reporting or self-identification to collect data on ethnicity and race, investigators should use two separate questions with ethnicity information collected first followed by the option to select more than one racial designation.
