Census Bureau Invites Expert Feedback on New Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions
The U.S. Census Bureau seeks expert input on a proposed test of questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the American Community Survey. View the federal register notice and submit feedback by May 30. 2024.
The information collected in the 2024 ACS Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) test will be used to evaluate the quality of data from questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The research will inform recommendations for potential production ACS implementation on question wording and response options, whether a confirmation question is asked of everyone or only of those people with discrepant responses for sex at birth and current gender identity, and the style of write-in boxes to use for internet respondents. The data will also be used to produce descriptive statistics on the test topics, assess the impact on other questions on the survey that have changed, and gain insight into terminology by analyzing write-in responses and responses to qualitative questions asked in the test. Data will be assessed by mode of response as well as type of respondent (proxy or self-reported data), in addition to other sub-groups of interest.
Because the questions being tested under this clearance have yet to be asked in the American Community Survey, the data gathered will not be considered official statistics of the Census Bureau or other Federal agencies. Test results will be included in research reports that will be published on the Census Bureau’s website. Results may also be prepared for presentations at professional meetings and conferences or for publication in professional journals. All published test results will be statistical products that contain only aggregated data that do not reveal individual responses.
Details of the questions being tested and test plans are available in Supporting Statements A and B and associated attachments. See directions below for how to find these documents online on www.reginfo.gov.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0607-0936.