Measuring Equality:
A guide for the
collection and
classification of
ethnic group,
national identity and
religion data in the
UK
Edition, Autumn 2011
Editor:
Angela Potter-Collins
Office for National Statistics
Measuring Equality: A guide for the collection and classification of ethnic group, national identity and
religion data in the UK
Official Statistics
ONS official statistics are produced to the high
professional standards set out in the Code of Practice
for Official Statistics.
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Office for National Statistics
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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Key Legislation ............................................................................................................................... 5
Different aspects of ethnicity ........................................................................................................... 7
Ethnic Group ................................................................................................................................... 8
Data presentation for the ethnic group question ............................................................................ 20
National Identity ............................................................................................................................ 28
Data presentation for the national identity question ....................................................................... 33
Religion ......................................................................................................................................... 36
Data presentation for the religious affiliation question ................................................................... 42
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Introduction
Collecting data on ethnic group, religion and national identity can be complex because of the
subjective and multifaceted nature of the concepts. Membership to each of the concepts is
something that is self-defined and subjectively meaningful to an individual. However these
concepts are measured and, in particular ethnic group and national identity, they tend to evolve in
the context of social and political attitudes or developments.
This guidance replaces ‘Ethnic group statistics: A guide for the collection and classification of
ethnicity data’ (2003). Its content is based on the recently published GSS harmonised standards on
ethnic group, national identity and religion, which recommend a harmonised approach in the data
collection process to allow consistency and comparability of statistical outputs across GB and the
UK.
It begins by looking at the development of the recommended harmonised country specific
questions for use on surveys in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and highlights
issues surrounding the specific requirements for constituent countries. It provides advice on how to
ask questions and present data on ethnic group, religion and national identity on social surveys in
the UK and notes some of the complexities that should be considered when collecting and
classifying data. The guidance also acknowledges that in some instances not all surveys will have
the resources to ask the harmonised questions in different countries, where this does occur
guidance following the recommended country specific options should be followed.
It is hoped that this guidance will be a useful tool for those collecting data on ethnic group, national
identity and religion. The guidance will be revised and updated when necessary and if you have
any queries or wish to feedback on its content, please email: [email protected]
Who is this guidance for?
This guidance is to help those who would like to collect and present ethnic group, national identity
and religion data from social surveys in the UK, for example social researchers, public bodies etc.
Who should respond to the ethnic group, religion and national identity questions?
Ethnic group, religion and national identity are self-identification measures reflecting how people
define themselves. Therefore, a response to a question should be answered by the respondent
directly, particularly if the respondent is an adult. It is sometimes possible to ask another member
of the household to reply on behalf of a respondent, however, this should be used only as a last
resort. Where this does occur notes should be recorded to reflect this. It is also important that
interviewers do not attempt to use their own judgements.
The questions have been designed for use with adult respondents aged 16 or over. If the target
population is below this age guidance maybe needed from the child’s parent/guardian/carer
particularly if they are below the age of 12 as they may not understand what the question is asking.
It is not recommended that categories are removed from the response options available to children
as their choice should not be limited because of their age (or other factors).
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How were the harmonised ethnic group, national identity and religious affiliation
questions developed?
The ethnic group, national identity and religious affiliation questions were developed through a
cross-government harmonisation project, undertaken through consultation and workshops with key
stakeholders between 2008 and 2010 that included:
•
Office for National Statistics
•
Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland
•
Welsh Government
•
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister/Northern Ireland Statistics and
Research Agency
•
Equality and Human Rights Commission
•
Data Standards Working Group
•
Other government departments
•
Academics
Why use the recommended harmonised questions?
The questions should be used in order to achieve a harmonised approach in the data collection
process which will allow for consistency and comparability of statistical outputs from different
sources across the UK.
Why are there different requirements for asking questions on surveys in Scotland?
For Scotland, specific requirements came out of a review of the way Scottish surveys classified
ethnicity .This followed recommendations made by the Race Equality Advisory Forum in 2001 and
community concerns about the classification used in Scotland’s 2001 Census. The review
conducted by the Scottish Government and the National Records of Scotland identified the benefits
for developing a separate national identity and new ethnicity classification for use on the Scottish
Census and relevant Scottish Official Statistics. Both questions used together would allow people
to self-express their ‘Scottish-ness’, ‘British-ness’ or any other national identity before expressing
their ethnic group The new ethnicity classification was published in July 2008 and details of the
classification (including research, consultation and question testing) can be found at
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/07/29095058/0. The classification was discussed by
Members of the Scottish Parliament during considerations of the 2011 Census in Scotland and was
subsequently amended for use in the Census. Details of the committee discussions can be seen in
the Official Reports of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee (9th and 12th meetings).
www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/eet/2010.htm.
There are also specific requirements for collecting data on religion in Scotland. This is done in
order to provide data on which to measure/examine sectarianism, rather than looking at Christian
and non-Christian.
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For further guidance on asking questions specifically for surveys in Scotland please refer to
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/equalitiesclassifications
Why are there different requirements for asking questions in Northern Ireland?
For Northern Ireland, specific requirements comply with the Good Friday Agreement (where it is
not acceptable to ask respondents to choose between ‘Northern Irish/British’ and ‘Irish identities’)
and legislation under the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 which outlaws discrimination on grounds
of colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origin. The Irish Traveller community is specifically
identified in the Order as a racial group against which racial discrimination is unlawful. ‘Guidance
for Monitoring Racial Equality’ was published in July 2011 by the Office of the First Minister and
Deputy First Minister and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, and can be accessed
at www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/guidance_for_monitoring_racial_equality_v2.pdf
There are also specific requirements for collecting data on religion in Northern Ireland. This is done
in order to provide data on which to measure/examine sectarianism, rather than looking at
Christian and non-Christian.
What are the different modes of administration?
The questions in this guidance are suitable for interviewer-led computer-assisted telephone
interviewing, face-to-face and computer-assisted personal interviewing. The questions can also be
used in self-completion modes of administration e.g. paper-based, computer-assisted self
interviewing and internet. There are some variations in the way the questions need to be asked
depending on mode of administration.
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Key Legislation
Equalities Act 2010
The new Equalities Act 2010 has brought together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one
single Act. It provides a new discrimination law with a legal framework that protects the rights of
individuals from unfair treatment and pushes forward equality of opportunity for all.
Equality Law applies regardless of:
•
the size of the organisation
•
the sector of work
•
whether there is one worker or hundreds or thousands of workers
•
whether or not the organisation uses formal processes or forms to help inform decisions
Public sector equality duty
The new public sector equality duty, which applies to all bodies carrying out public functions, came
into force on 5 April 2011 and covers the 8 protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act
among which are race, religion and belief. The duty requires public bodies to have due regard to
the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in
the course of developing policies and delivering services.
Specific duties
In addition, the Equality Act gives the Government a power to impose specific duties on certain
public bodies which set out steps they must undertake to enable them to better perform the public
sector equality duty.
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act requires public authorities in carrying out their functions
relating to Northern Ireland, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity;
between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or
sexual orientation; between men and women generally; between persons with a disability and
persons without; between persons with dependants and persons without.
Without prejudice to these obligations, a public authority is also required, in carrying out its
functions, to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of
different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.
Policy and service delivery
There is no express requirement under the public sector equality duty to collect monitoring
information. However, in order to meet the duty public bodies need to understand the impact of
their work and collecting monitoring information is likely to be an effective way of gathering
sufficient information to enable them to do this.
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Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, public bodies must monitor for adverse impact of
their policies and publish the results of this monitoring.
Data Protection Acts
Laws exist to protect the confidentiality of data about living individuals (‘personal data’) and give
individuals rights to privacy or to access information held about them by public authorities. These
laws are:
•
Data Protection Act 1998
•
Human Rights Act 1998; and
•
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Data Protection Act is concerned with the fair and lawful processing of personal data.
Information about an individual’s ethnic background and religion is classified as sensitive personal
data. Sensitive data are recognised under European and domestic law and the conditions for
processing such data are listed in the Data Protection Act.
What is express consent?
Legally, express consent means that respondents have authorised their data to be processed for
the purposes that they have been informed about. This will assist with compliance with the first
principle of the Data Protection Act.
If there are plans to share sensitive data there is a responsibility to ensure that all parties
processing the data are aware of the responsibilities and duties under the Data Protection Act, and
that this is part of a formal data access agreement.
Specific requirements for asking questions on a survey in Scotland
Following the Race Equality Advisory Forum in 2001 and concerns by some communities in
Scotland about the classifications used in the 2001 Census, the Scottish Government and the
General Register Office for Scotland worked together to conduct a review. Out of which came
specific requirements for the ethnicity classification for Scotland which was subsequently
discussed by Members of the Scottish Parliament and amended for use on the Scottish 2011
Census.
Specific requirements for asking questions on a survey in Northern Ireland
For Northern Ireland, specific requirements comply with the Good Friday Agreement (where it is
not acceptable to ask respondents to choose between ‘Northern Irish/British’ and ‘Irish identities’)
and legislation under the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 which outlaws discrimination on grounds
of colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origin. The Irish Traveller community is specifically
identified in the Order as a racial group against which racial discrimination is unlawful.
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Different aspects of ethnicity
Since ethnicity is a multi-faceted and changing phenomenon, various possible ways of measuring
ethnic groups are available and have been used over time. These include country of birth,
nationality, language spoken at home, skin colour (an aspect for consideration for some and not for
others), national/geographical origin and religion. What seems to be generally accepted, however,
is that ethnicity includes all these aspects, and others, in combination.
Country of birth
For many years, the only statistics on ethnicity that were regularly available in Britain were based
on people’s country of birth. This has limited reliability and has become increasingly less relevant
when used on its own as the proportion of ethnic minority individuals born in the UK has increased
and also because it includes children born abroad to British born parents.
Nationality
Some host countries use nationality as their primary criterion, implying that migrants renounce their
ethnicity once they have qualified for citizenship. However, it is clear that many of the
disadvantages and other experiences associated with ethnic minority status continue long after
naturalisation has been completed.
Language spoken at home
For some minority ethnic groups, language spoken at home may be an effective way of defining
ethnicity. Such a question has been commonly asked in large national surveys of minority ethnic
groups, not only to identify members of the minority but also to permit the matching of interviewer
with respondent in cases where the interview is conducted in the indigenous language. But, as
time goes on, this measure is becoming increasingly less useful: with the emergence of the second
and third generations, young families may use English as their main language, even though they
still identify with particular minority ethnic groups.
Skin Colour
Skin colour is an option for considering ethnic group. However it’s not an adequate criterion in its
own right and for some its use is seen as unacceptable.
National/Geographical origin
A question may include aspects of national or geographical origin, with the assumption that these
help to identify ethnic groups. For example, the terms West Indian or Indian are taken as shorthand
terms for members of ethnic groups originating in those parts of the world. A further development
has been to combine national or geographical origin with a colour term such as Black, as in BlackAfrican, to identify more precisely which group is being referred to for people originating from a part
of the world which is itself multi-ethnic, such as sub Saharan Africa. However, colour of skin is not
acceptable criterion to use for some.
Religion
One of the important defining characteristics for some ethnic minorities is their religion. Some
commentators think that the religious dimension should be recognised more explicitly.
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Ethnic Group
Collecting data on ethnic group is complex because of the subjective, multifaceted and changing
nature of ethnic identification. There is no consensus on what constitutes an ethnic group and
membership is something that is self-defined and subjectively meaningful to the person concerned.
The terminology used to describe ethnic groups has changed markedly over time and how this is
defined or measured, tends to evolve in the context of social and political attitudes or
developments. Ethnic group is also very diverse, encompassing common ancestry and elements of
culture, identity, religion, language and physical appearance.
This guidance highlights some of the complexities that need to be considered when collecting and
classifying data on ethnic group. In the main it provides advice on how to ask questions on ethnic
group from surveys and how to present ethnic group data from surveys, using the recommended
harmonised country specific questions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The are
some differences in the questions due to the requirements of the constituent countries and where
this has implications for producing GB and UK outputs, these issues are highlighted.
It is recognised that not all GB or UK wide surveys will have the resources required to ask different
questions in different countries. In these rare situations it is recommended that the England and
Wales question be used in Scotland. When this choice is made, a full UK and GB output can be
produced.
What is the recommended harmonised ethnic group question to use on surveys?
The recommended ethnic group question for use on surveys came out of a two year crossgovernment consultation programme that wanted to harmonise data collection to enable
consistency and comparability of data. It is recommended that the following question be used:
‘What is your ethnic group?’
What is a 'self-identification' measure of ethnic group?
In a survey respondents are invited to select, from a list of categories, the ethnic group to which
they consider they belong. There appear to be two factors determining the ethnic group that is
recorded for each respondent:
•
their own choice of how they view their own ethnicity, and
•
the list of options presented to them.
The first consideration is the most straightforward; the ethnic group that each person chooses as
his or her own is intrinsically the ethnic group of self-identity, rather than being ascribed by anyone
else.
The second consideration is apparently not so clear-cut. The ethnic group options presented to the
respondent are not completely ones of self-identity, since the respondent is likely to have had no
say in the names or the number of the different alternative ethnic groups presented to them.
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Therefore, the freedom the respondent has to select their own group is constrained and influenced
by the options on offer.
Why have categories?
A category is used to assign data reported or measured for a particular situation according to
shared characteristics. We use them to ensure consistent description and comparison of statistics.
In practice, it is a set of ‘boxes’ into which items can be put in order to get some kind of meaning.
Categories allow us, in an accurate and systematic way, to arrange our data according to common
features, so that the resulting statistics can be easily reproduced and able to be compared over
time and between different sources.
Why are there differences in the ethnic group response categories?
When collecting GB or UK data, the format of the question will vary slightly depending on whether
data is being collected in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Each of the constituent
countries has different requirements which have led in some instances to the use of different
terminology and different questions. Therefore, if producing outputs for surveys with GB or UK
coverage and using the Scotland country specific questions, response categories can only be
harmonised at the main level category, due to the variations in the terminology of questions being
asked.
What are the differences in the ethnic group response categories?
The main differences in the ethnic group response categories are:
•
White categories (excluding Traveller categories): Scotland separates Scottish from Other
British and includes separate Irish and Polish categories; England and Wales combine UK
and British categories but include a separate Irish category; Northern Ireland has one White
category.
•
Traveller categories: In Northern Ireland Irish Traveller is a main category separate from
White; Scotland has a Gypsy/Traveller category and England and Wales have a Gypsy or
Irish Traveller category.
•
Mixed Multiple Ethnic Groups: There is no category breakdown for the country specific
question in Scotland, there are no suggested categories as opposed to the other countries
where there are options for selection.
•
There are some differences in the terminology and data collection of the country specific
Scotland question that make these categories difficult to compare. The African category in
the Scottish question is presented in a separate section to the Caribbean or Black category,
however under the harmonised output these two categories are output as part of
‘Black/African/Caribbean/Black British’. The African categories used in Scotland could
potentially capture White/Asian/Other African in addition to Black identities.
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What are the implications for a GB and UK output when using the country specific
questions?
If producing outputs for surveys with GB or UK coverage and using the Scotland country specific
question, response categories should be aggregated and presented at the main level category and
it will be necessary to explain differences in footnotes (see data presentation for details).
What instruction should be used when asking the ethnic group question in a face to
face interviewer led survey and self completion survey?
•
It is recommended that the ethnic group question will be asked in a way that allows the
respondent to see all possible response options before making their decision. Therefore, in
face-to-face interviewer-led surveys, a single show card should be used which presents all
response options. The interviewer should then ask the respondent to select the option that
best describes their ethnic group or background. Similarly, a self-completion survey (e.g.
paper-based) should use a single question.
•
The instruction ‘please describe’ should follow the ‘Other’ response options. This should be
in non-bold font. These instructions should also be included on paper-based surveys.
What are the recommended ethnic group questions?
England
Below is the recommended country specific ethnic group question for use in England. This
question is recommended when a show card is used in a face-to-face interview or self-completion
survey (both paper and electronic).
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background
White
1. English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
2. Irish
3. Gypsy or Irish Traveller
4. Any other White background, please describe
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups
5. White and Black Caribbean
6. White and Black African
7. White and Asian
8. Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background, please describe
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Asian / Asian British
9. Indian
10. Pakistani
11. Bangladeshi
12. Chinese
13. Any other Asian background, please describe
Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
14. African
15. Caribbean
16. Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please describe
Other ethnic group
17. Arab
18. Any other ethnic group, please describe
Wales
Below is the recommended country specific ethnic group question for use in Wales. This question
is recommended when a show card is used in a face-face interview or self-completion survey (both
paper and electronic).
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background
White
1. Welsh / English / Scottish / Northern Irish / British
2. Irish
3. Gypsy or Irish Traveller
4. Any other White background, please describe
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups
5. White and Black Caribbean
6. White and Black African
7. White and Asian
8. Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background, please describe
Asian / Asian British
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9. Indian
10. Pakistani
11. Bangladeshi
12. Chinese
13. Any other Asian background, please describe
Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
14. African
15. Caribbean
16. Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please describe
Other ethnic group
17. Arab
18. Any other ethnic group, please describe
Scotland
Below is the recommended country specific ethnic group question for use in Scotland. This
question is recommended when a show card is used in a face-to-face interview or self-completion
survey (both paper and electronic). This question has been developed to enable direct comparison
with the Scottish Census and other sources in Scotland.
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background
White
1. Scottish
2. Other British
3. Irish
4. Gypsy/Traveller
5. Polish
6. Any other White ethnic group, please describe
Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
7. Any Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups, please describe
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British
8. Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British
9. Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British
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10. Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British
11. Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British
12. Any other Asian, please describe
African
13. African, African Scottish or African British
14. Any other African, please describe
Caribbean or Black
15. Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British
16. Black, Black Scottish or Black British
17. Any other Caribbean or Black, please describe
Other ethnic group
18. Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British
19. Any other ethnic group, please describe
Note: When producing outputs for surveys with GB or UK coverage it is only possible to harmonise
with the rest of GB or UK at the top level category. Footnotes should be included to explain the
differences in the data collection.
Where it is not feasible to ask the recommended country specific Scotland ethnic group question,
the recommended question for England and Wales should be used. Ensure that the Scottish option
is first in the response categories. See below;
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background
White
1. Scottish / English / Welsh / Northern Irish / British
2. Irish
3. Gypsy or Irish Traveller
4. Any other White background, please describe
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups
5. White and Black Caribbean
6. White and Black African
7. White and Asian
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8. Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background, please describe
Asian / Asian British
9. Indian
10. Pakistani
11. Bangladeshi
12. Chinese
13. Any other Asian background, please describe
Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
14. African
15. Caribbean
16. Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please describe
Other ethnic group
17. Arab
18. Any other ethnic group, please describe
Northern Ireland
Below is the recommended country specific ethnic group question for Northern Ireland. This
question is recommended when a show card is used in a face-to-face interview or self-completion
survey both paper and electronic.
The harmonised ethnic group question for Northern Ireland is different to that used in the 2011
Census of Population in Northern Ireland. The Census question had fewer categories although the
harmonised question aggregates to the same categories. Census Office took a conscious decision
not to use terminology such as "British black", as it was felt this would have needed to be
counterbalanced with "Irish black" in a Northern Ireland context. With limited space, Census Office
omitted this terminology.
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background
1. White
2. Irish Traveller
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups
3. White and Black Caribbean
4. White and Black African
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5. White and Asian
6. Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background, please describe
Asian / Asian British
7. Indian
8. Pakistani
9. Bangladeshi
10. Chinese
11. Any other Asian background, please describe
Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
12. African
13. Caribbean
14. Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please describe
Other ethnic group
15. Arab
16. Any other ethnic group, please describe
What instruction should be used when asking the ethnic group question on
telephone surveys?
•
The use of a show card is not possible on the telephone, therefore the question should be
asked in two stages due to its length. The recommended stages are presented below as
part 1 and part 2.
•
The interviewer should use the word ‘or’ after each response option in parts 1 and 2 of the
two-stage question. A pause in speech should be used to indicate a forward slash (/). For
Scotland ‘or’ is used instead of a forward slash.
What are the harmonised country specific ethnic group questions recommended for
telephone surveys?
Ethnic group question for telephone interview (as applied on the LFS)
PART 1
ETH11
Applies to all
Interviewer to read:
What is your ethnic group?
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I will read out the options, choose one option that best describes your ethnic group
or background
In England and
Wales
Interviewer to read options:
1. White, or
2.Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups, or
3. Asian/ Asian British, or
4. Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British, or
5. Chinese, or
6. Arab, or
7. Other ethnic group
In Scotland
Interviewer to read options:
1. White or
2. Mixed or Multiple Ethnic group, or
3. Asian or Asian Scottish or Asian British, or
4. African or
5. Caribbean or Black or
6. Arab or
7. Other ethnic group
In Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options:
1. White, or
2. Irish Traveller, or
3. Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups, or
4. Asian/ Asian British, or
5. Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British, or
6. Chinese, or
7. Arab, or
8. Other ethnic group
PART 2
Interviewer to read:
And which one of these best describes your ethnic group or background?
ETHNIC-WHITE (ETHWH)
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Applies if
ETH11=1 in
England
Interviewer to read options:
1. English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British, or
2. Irish, or
3. Gypsy or Irish Traveller, or
4. Any other White background?
Applies if
ETH11=1 in
Wales
Interviewer to read options:
1. Welsh / English / Scottish / Northern Irish / British, or
2. Irish, or
3. Gypsy or Irish Traveller, or
4. Any other White background?
Applies if
ETH11=1 in
Scotland
Interviewer to read options:
1. Scottish or
2. Other British or
3. Irish or
4. Gypsy/Traveller or
5. Polish or
6. Any other white ethnic group?
ETHNIC- MIXED (ETHMX)
Applies if
ETH11=2 in
England, Wales or
3 in Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options:
1. White and Black Caribbean, or
2. White and Black African, or
3. White and Asian, or
4. Any other mixed / multiple ethnic background?
ETHNIC- ASIAN (ETHAS)
Applies if
ETH11=3 in
England or Wales
or 4 in Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options:
1. Indian, or
2. Pakistani, or
3. Bangladeshi, or
4. Any other Asian background?
Applies if
ETH11=3 in
Scotland
Interviewer to read options:
1. Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British or
2. Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British or
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3. Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British or
4. Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British or
5. Any other Asian group
ETHNIC-BLACK (ETHBL)
Applies if
ETH11=4 in
England or Wales
or 5 in Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options:
1. African, or
2. Caribbean, or
3. Any other Black / African / Caribbean background?
ETHNIC- AFRICAN (ETHAF) SCOTLAND ONLY
Applies if
ETH11=4 in
Scotland
Interviewer to read options:
1. African, African Scottish or African British or
2. Any other African group?
ETHNIC-CARIBBEAN (ETHCB) SCOTLAND ONLY
Applies if
ETH11=5 in
Scotland
Interviewer to read options:
1. Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British or
2. Black, Black Scottish or Black British or
3. Any other Caribbean or Black group?
ETHNIC-OTHER (ETHOTH)
Applies if
ETH11=7 in
England, Wales or
Scotland, or
ETH11=8 in
Northern Ireland
Interviewer to read:
Please can you describe your ethnic group or background?
Record respondent’s answer
Or for England,
Wales and
Northern Ireland
ETHWH=4
Or ETHMX=4
Or ETHAS=5
Or ETHBL=3
Or for Scotland
where
ETHWH=6
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Or ETHAS=5
Or ETHAF=2
Or ETHCB=3
What about the ‘Other’ category?
The list of ethnic group categories provided in the recommended questions are the result of
extensive consultation and testing but they are by no means definitive and they do not capture all
ethnic diversity in the UK. For this reason, a write-in option for each high level category is made
available under ‘Any Other’. The write-in option is a very important category for the acceptability of
the question and response rates.
What if more ethnic group categories are needed?
Categories within the recommended ethnic group questions are the result of extensive consultation
and testing and by no means capture all ethnic diversity within the UK. The categories are
designed to enable the majority of the population to identify themselves in a manageable way and
as a result it is restricted to those groups that make up the majority of the population. The length of
this is not intended to exclude any groups of the population but rather to prevent the ethnic data
collection from becoming overly complex and confusing while ensuring the majority of the
population can record themselves accurately.
Whilst the measurement of ethnic group must take into account practical issues surrounding data
collection and presentation, if categories are not sufficient, for some authorities it might be
necessary to expand the ‘Other’ category/categories to take into account local needs. This might
result in a longer classification that will allow for identification of many groups, however, caution is
required with analysis of such numbers (to ensure reliability and to avoid disclosure). If figures
produced are too small to publish then they can be suppressed or it might be more suitable to
aggregate to the relevant ‘Other’ category.
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Data presentation for the ethnic group question
How should data for England and Wales be presented if using the country specific
questions?
The presentation should follow the order of categories below when using the country specific
ethnic group question for the England and Wales.
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White
English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
XXX
Irish
XXX
Gypsy or Irish Traveller *
XXX
Any other White background
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
White and Black Caribbean
XXX
White and Black African
XXX
White and Asian
XXX
Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British
African
XXX
Caribbean
XXX
Any other Black/ African/ Caribbean background
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group
XXX
Issues to note when presenting data based on using the country specific harmonised
country specific ethnic group question for England and Wales
* Where numbers are too small or disclosive the category should be merged with
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‘Other White.
How should data for Scotland be presented if using the Scottish country specific
ethnic group question?
The presentation should follow the order of categories below when using the Scottish country
specific ethnic group question.
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White
Scottish
XXX
Other British
XXX
Irish
XXX
Gypsy/Traveller
XXX
Polish
XXX
Any other white ethnic group
XXX
Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
Any mixed or multiple ethnic groups
XXX
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British
Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British
XXX
Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British
XXX
Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British
XXX
Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British
XXX
Any other Asian
XXX
African
African, African Scottish or African British
XXX
Any other African
XXX
Caribbean or Black
Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British
XXX
Black, Black Scottish or Black British
XXX
Any other Caribbean or Black
XXX
Other ethnic group
XXX
Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British
XXX
Any other ethnic group
XXX
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How should data be presented if using the England and Wales ethnic group
question in Scotland?
When the England and Wales question is used in Scotland the order of presentation of responses
should follow order of categories as for England and Wales but putting Scottish first.
How should data be presented if using the Northern Ireland country specific ethnic
group question?
The presentation should follow the order of categories below when using the Northern Ireland
country specific ethnic group question
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White
XXX
Irish Traveller*
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
White and Black Caribbean
XXX
White and Black African
XXX
White and Asian
XXX
Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British
African
XXX
Caribbean
XXX
Any other Black/ African/ Caribbean background
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group
XXX
Issues to note when presenting data based on using the harmonised country specific
ethnic group question for Northern Ireland.
*For Northern Ireland ‘Irish Traveller’ is collected under its own ethnic group and
should be presented as Irish Traveller’. Where ‘Irish Traveller’ ‘numbers are small or
disclosive it is recommended to output to ‘Any other ethnic group’.
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How should data be presented for a GB output when using the country specific
questions?
•
If the harmonised country specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales and Scotland
are used to produce a GB output then the presentation of data should follow the order of
responses below.
•
It is important to note that due to some of the differences in the format and wording of
Scotland’s harmonised country specific ethnic group question some responses are not
directly comparable. Response categories should be aggregated and presented at the main
level category only with footnotes to explain the issues surrounding the differences in the
data collection process.
Presentation for ethnic group data in GB when using the harmonised country
specific questions for England, Wales and Scotland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White
English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
XXX
Irish
XXX
Gypsy, Traveller or Irish Traveller *
XXX
Any other White background**
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups***
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British****
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group
XXX
Issues to note when presenting GB data based on using the harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales and Scotland
* Differences in data collection should be explained. If data too small or potentially
disclosive it should be combined with ‘Other White’.
**The Polish category from the country specific question for Scotland should be
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combined with the ‘Other White’ category. Also be aware of the possibility that ‘White
Africans’ could have been recorded under ‘African’ and ‘Other White’ in Scotland.
*** This classification isn’t broken down for the country specific question for Scotland
and a footnote should be included to explain differences in data collection.
**** Differences in the terminology and data collection of the country specific Scotland
question make these categories difficult to compare. The ‘African’ category in the
Scottish question is presented in a separate section to the Caribbean or Black
category, however under the harmonised output these two categories are output as
part of ‘Black/African/Caribbean/Black British’. The African categories used in
Scotland could potentially capture ‘White/Asian/Other African in addition to Black
identities.
How should data be presented for a GB output when using the harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England and Wales and the same question for
Scotland?
The presentation should follow the order of categories below if using the country specific ethnic
group questions for England and Wales and if the same question is used for Scotland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White
English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
XXX
Irish
XXX
Gypsy or Irish Traveller *
XXX
Any other White background
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
White and Black Caribbean
XXX
White and Black African
XXX
White and Asian
XXX
Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British
African
XXX
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Caribbean
XXX
Any other Black/ African/ Caribbean background
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group
XXX
Issues to note when presenting GB data based on using the harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England and Wales and using the same question
for Scotland
* Where numbers are small or disclosive for England, Wales and Scotland it is
recommended to output to ‘Other White’.
How should data be presented for a full UK output when using the country specific
questions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
If the harmonised country specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland are used to produce a UK output then the presentation of data should follow that
below. It is important to note that due to some of the differences in the format and wording of the
Scotland harmonised country specific ethnic group question some responses are not directly
comparable. Response categories should be aggregated and presented at the main level category
with footnotes to explain the issues surrounding the differences in the data collection process.
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
White*
XXX
Irish Traveller **
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups***
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British****
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group*****
XXX
Issues to note when presenting UK data based on using the harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland
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* This category could include Polish responses from the country specific question for
Scotland which would have been outputted to ‘Other White’ and then included under
‘White’ for UK. Also be aware of the possibility that ‘White Africans’ could have been
recorded under ‘Other White’ and then included under ‘White’ for UK.
**There are differences in data collection across the UK for ‘Gypsy, Traveller or Irish
Traveller’, which make it difficult to produce a UK estimate. For GB ‘Gypsy, Traveller
or Irish Traveller’ is included under ‘White’, For Northern Ireland, ‘Irish Traveller is
collected under its own ethnic group. Where numbers for ‘Irish Traveller’ are small or
disclosive in Northern Ireland it is recommended to output to ‘Other ethnic group’.
Where numbers are small or disclosive for England, Wales and Scotland it is
recommended to output to ‘Other White’.
***This classification isn’t broken down for the country specific question for Scotland
and a footnote should be included to explain differences in data collection.
****Differences in the terminology and data collection of the country specific Scotland
question make these categories difficult to compare. The ‘African’ category in the
Scottish question is presented in a separate section to the ‘Caribbean’ or ‘Black’
category, however, under the harmonised output these two categories are output as
part of Black/African/Caribbean/Black British’. The African categories used in
Scotland could potentially capture ‘White/Asian/Other African’ in addition to ‘Black’
identities.
*****See Irish Travellers above
How should data be presented for a UK output when using harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the
England and Wales ethnic group question for Scotland?
If the harmonised country specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
are used along with the England and Wales question for Scotland then the presentation of data
should follow that below with footnotes to explain the issues surrounding the differences in the data
collection process.
White*
XXX
Irish Traveller **
XXX
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
White and Black Caribbean
XXX
White and Black African
XXX
White and Asian
XXX
Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background
XXX
Asian/ Asian British
Indian
XXX
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Pakistani
XXX
Bangladeshi
XXX
Chinese
XXX
Any other Asian background
XXX
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British
African
XXX
Caribbean
XXX
Any other Black/ African/ Caribbean background
XXX
Other ethnic group
Arab
XXX
Any other ethnic group***
XXX
Issues to note when presenting UK data based on using the harmonised country
specific ethnic group questions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the
England and Wales question for Scotland
*There are differences in data collection across the UK for ‘Gypsy, Traveller or Irish
Traveller which make it difficult to produce a UK estimate. For GB ‘Gypsy, Traveller or
Irish Traveller’ is included under ‘White’ and where numbers are small or disclosive
for England, Wales and Scotland it is recommended to output to ‘Other White’
** For Northern Ireland ‘Irish Traveller’ is collected under its own ethnic group and
should be presented as Irish Traveller’.
***Where ‘Irish Traveller’ ‘numbers are small or disclosive it is recommended to
output to ‘other ethnic group’.
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National Identity
National identity is a measure of self-identity reflecting the subjective nature of national identity. A
question on national identity allows a person to express a preference as to which country or
countries, nation or nations that they feel most affiliated to.
There has been an increasing interest in 'national’ consciousness and many people wanting
acknowledgement of their national identity. In response a recommended harmonised national
identity question has been developed for use on social surveys that offers some insight into how an
individual views their identity. This guidance outlines the process for asking and presenting
national identity data.
It is recommended that the question should be used in addition to the ethnic group question and
whenever there is a need to collect data about national identities; for example, when respondents
classify themselves as English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Irish, British or another national
identity.
It is important to be aware that in Northern Ireland, to comply with the Good Friday Agreement, the
national identity question must be asked in such a way that no-one is forced to choose between
being British, Irish and Northern Irish. This requirement is satisfied through the question being
multi-response.
What is the recommended national identity question to use on government
surveys?
The recommended national identity question for use on surveys came out of a two year cross
government consultation programme that wanted to harmonise data collection to enable
consistency and comparability of data. The recommended question to be used is:
‘How would you describe your national identity?’
Where on a survey should the national identity question be asked?
•
The national identity question should be asked as a separate question but in addition to the
ethnic group question. This is because research has shown that classifying ethnic group is
best achieved separately from national identity.
•
Research also suggests that people were happier when asked about their national identity
first. It is therefore recommended that the national identity question is asked immediately
before the ethnic group question in surveys.
Why have categories?
A category is used to assign data reported or measured for a particular situation according to
shared characteristics. We use them to ensure consistent description and comparison of statistics.
In practice, it is a set of ‘boxes’ into which items can be put in order to get some kind of meaning
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Categories allow us, in an accurate and systematic way, to arrange our data according to common
features, so that the resulting statistics can be easily reproduced and able to be compared over
time and between different sources.
What order should the categories be?
It is recommended that the order of response categories should be changed depending on the
country in which the question is being asked. The recommended orders of categories are given
below in national identity question (a).
Where cross-country comparability is a priority above comparability with respective census
questions, categories for a single UK question have been recommended in national identity
question (b). It is still recommended however, that the category orders follow those presented in
national identity question (a). Note that, there is a slight variation of response categories for
Northern Ireland, in both (a) and (b) an Irish category is located between the ‘British’ and ‘Northern
Irish’ categories.
Multi-Response
The national identity question is a multi-response question, this allows for a proportion of
respondents who wish to identify with two or more identities. Multiple response categories for the
presentation of results are primarily data driven. Categories will need to be agreed before
presentation.
It is important to be aware that in Northern Ireland, to comply with the Good Friday Agreement, the
national identity question must be asked in such a way that no-one is forced to choose between
being British, Irish and Northern Irish. This requirement is satisfied through the question being
multi-response.
Where there are multiple-responses, presentation of results should include a footnote to explain
why the total number of responses is greater than the sample population.
What about the ‘Other’ category?
The list of national identity categories provided in the recommended question is by no means
definitive and does not capture all national identities in the UK. In order to capture nationalities
outside of the UK, a write-in option under ‘Other’ national identity is available.
What if more national identity categories are needed?
Categories of national identity in the recommendation questions by no means capture all identities
within the UK and in certain cases it might be necessary to explicitly list additional categories.
Categories must take into account practical issues surrounding data collection and presentation. A
longer classification might allow for identification of many smaller groups of identities, however,
caution is required with analysis of such numbers (to ensure reliability and to avoid disclosure) if
figures produced are too low to publish separately then they may need to be aggregated with the
‘Other’ group for publication. For some cases it might be necessary to expand the ‘Other’ category.
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What instructions should be used when asking the national identity question?
•
It is recommended that a show card is used in interviewer-led surveys. Where this is not
possible (e.g. telephone interviews), the response categories should be read out by the
interviewer in the same order as they appear in the box below.
•
The question is a multi-response question and the show card must include the instruction
‘Please choose all that apply’ in addition to being read out by the interviewer. This is
particularly important in Northern Ireland where respondents must not be asked to choose
between ‘British’, ‘Irish’ and ‘Northern Irish’ (see above).
•
The instruction ‘please describe’ should also be included on the show card following the
‘Other’ response option. This should be in non-bold font. These instructions should also be
included on paper-based surveys.
What is the recommended national identity question for a survey in England, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland?
This is the recommended national identity question and layout for use on a survey in England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The order of response categories are changed depending
on where the question is being asked.
National identity question (a) for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Applies to All
Interviewer to read:
How would you describe your national identity?
Please choose all that apply.
In England
Interviewer to read options
English
Welsh
Scottish
Northern Irish
British
Other, please describe
In Wales
Interviewer to read options
Welsh
English
Scottish
Northern Irish
British
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Other, please describe
In Scotland
Interviewer to read options
Scottish
English
Welsh
Northern Irish
British
Other, please describe
In Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options
British
Irish
Northern Irish
English
Scottish
Welsh
Other, please describe
What is the recommended national identity question for asking a single UK
question?
This is the recommended national identity question and layout for use on a survey when using the
single UK question.
National identity question (b): Single UK presentation
Applies to All
Interviewer to read:
How would you describe your national identity?
Please choose all that apply.
Category order dependant on where question is asked
In England
Interviewer to read options
English
Welsh
Scottish
Northern Irish
British
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Irish
Other, please describe
In Wales
Interviewer to read options
Welsh
English
Scottish
Northern Irish
British
Irish
Other, please describe
In Scotland
Interviewer to read options
Scottish
Welsh
English
Northern Irish
British
Irish
Other, please describe
In Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read options
British
Irish
Northern Irish
English
Scottish
Welsh
Other, please describe
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Data presentation for the national identity question
To present data for England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, presentation should follow order
of response categories as per national identity question (a). The order of response categories
should be changed depending on where the questions are being asked. In each case it should be
noted that multiple responses are possible so responses may sum to more than the number of
respondents.
Data presentation for national identity in England
This is the recommended presentation for national identity data in England
National identity data presentation for England
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
English
XXX
Welsh
XXX
Scottish
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
British
XXX
Other
XXX
Data presentation for national identity in Wales
This is the recommended presentation for national identity data in Wales
National identity data presentation for Wales
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
Welsh
XXX
English
XXX
Scottish
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
British
XXX
Other
XXX
Data presentation for national Identity in Scotland
This is the recommended presentation for national identity data in Scotland
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National identity data presentation for Scotland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
Scottish
XXX
Welsh
XXX
English
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
British
XXX
Other
XXX
Data presentation for national identity in Northern Ireland
This is the recommended presentation for national identity data in Northern Ireland
National identity data presentation for Northern Ireland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
British
XXX
Irish
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
English
XXX
Scottish
XXX
Welsh
XXX
Other
XXX
Data presentation for national identity in GB and the UK
Data presentations on national identity for GB and the UK should follow the question format of the
National identity question (a) below.
Data presentation for national identity data in GB and UK
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
British
XXX
English
XXX
Scottish
XXX
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Welsh
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
Other
XXX*
To note
*’Irish’ is combined with ‘Other’. An explanatory note should be
provided regarding use of the ‘Irish’ category in Northern
Ireland.
Data presentation for national identity in Northern Ireland or the UK if using the
single UK question
Data presentations on national identity for Northern Ireland or the UK should follow the question
format of the National identity question (b) below.
Data presentation for national identity data in Northern Ireland
( or if using the single UK question)
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
British
XXX
English
XXX
Scottish
XXX
Welsh
XXX
Northern Irish
XXX
Irish
XXX
Other
XXX
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Religion
For many people religion is one of the most important defining characteristics of an identity. Whilst
religious identity can be objective this guidance focuses on measuring the subjective nature of
religious identification and how people define themselves.
Surveys can measure different concepts of religion including religious ‘affiliation’, ‘practice’, ‘belief’
and ‘belonging’. This guidance begins by outlining those concepts but then specifically details the
process of asking about ‘religious affiliation’, which is the recommended concept for the GSS
harmonised question for use on surveys. The question was developed to enable consistency and
comparability of data across the GB and the UK. The guidance provides advice on how to ask,
present and discuss religion data at a country specific level and a GB and UK level, whilst also
highlighting how to avoid data being misinterpreted by users.
A question on religion can be asked by itself or along with other questions such as ethnic group as
they are often closely interrelated concepts. When used together they can complement each other
to allow for a more distinct picture of a population.
What are the concepts of religion that can be measured on social surveys?
There are different concepts of religion that can be measured on social surveys and these can
include affiliation, belonging belief and practice. It is important to be clear about what concept is
being measured:
•
Religious affiliation is the connection or identification with a religion irrespective of actual
practice or belief.
•
Religious belonging can be interpreted as both loose self-identification and active or
formal belonging to a religious group. This can produce problems of ambiguity as some
people may respond that they have a religious affiliation but not belong to a religion.
•
Religious belief includes beliefs typically expected to be held by followers of a religion and
how important those beliefs are to a person’s life.
•
Practice includes specific religious activities expected of believers.
Are UK comparisons possible with the census questions on religion?
The Census is the most commonly used source for statistics on religion and a voluntary question
was asked for the first time in GB in 2001 (a religion question has been asked in Northern Ireland
since 1861). In England and Wales the question asked was ‘what is your religion’. For Scotland
and Northern Ireland there were two questions asked, ‘what religion, religious denomination or
body do you belong to?’ and ‘what religion, religious denomination or body were you brought up
in?’ The same religion questions have been asked on the 2011 census of the respective countries,
however, in Scotland only one question has been asked: ‘what religion, religious denomination or
body do you belong to’, the question on upbringing wasn’t asked. The religion question in Northern
Ireland is used to derive community background (that is, Catholic, Protestant or Other). The
additional question is included in Northern Ireland partly to enhance response rates. Legislation in
Northern Ireland was framed in terms of ‘perceived religious identity’.
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Due to the differences in the questions it is important to be aware that when trying to make UK
comparisons with census data on religion:
•
The 2011 question on the England and Wales census asks about ‘affiliation’, whereas, the
2011 Scotland and Northern Ireland censuses ask about ‘belonging’.
•
The way people respond to questions on religion is sensitive to what question is being
asked and how it is asked.
As a result, comparing or combining data relating to different concepts is not recommended.
Should comparisons on religion be made with different data sources?
•
Caution should be used when comparing religion data from and with different sources. The
Census of England and Wales asks a different religion question to that of Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
•
There is also variation in the religion questions asked on different surveys, some ask about
belonging and attendance whereas others ask about importance or belief. Note that on the
LFS in Northern Ireland the religion question asked is about denomination.
•
It is important to note that the way people respond to questions on religion is sensitive to
what question is asked and how it is asked.
What is the recommended harmonised religion question to use on government
surveys?
A religion question on affiliation was recommended for use on surveys after a two year crossgovernment consultation programme that wanted to harmonise data collection across GB and the
UK to enable consistency and comparability of data. It is therefore recommended that, where a
single question on religion is required for data collection in the UK, the GSS harmonised religious
question which measures affiliation should be used and that is:
‘What is your religion?’
If further information on religious practice is required a follow on question about practice can be
used, such as:
‘Do you consider that you are actively practising your religion?’
What instruction should be used when asking the religion question?
•
It is not recommended that a single Christian category is used across GB or the UK. The
recommended breakdown for the Christian denominations that should be used in Scotland
and Northern Ireland are provided below.
•
It is recommended that a show card is used in interviewer-led surveys in GB. Where this is
not possible (e.g. telephone interviews), the response categories should be read out by the
interviewer in the same order as the appropriate show card.
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•
The instruction ‘please describe’ should be included on the show card following the ‘any
other religion’ response option. This should be in non-bold font. This instruction should also
be included on paper-based surveys.
•
Use of a show card is not recommended in Northern Ireland. The interviewer should read
the question and wait for a spontaneous response. If a response is not forthcoming, the
interviewer may prompt using the categories in the box below. (A prompt is often required
to follow up a response such as those responding as ‘Christian’ or ‘Protestant’ with the
question ‘And what type of ‘Christian or Protestant is that?’). The use of show cards and
prompts should be acknowledged when comparing data.
What is the recommended religion question for a survey in England?
This is the recommended religion question and layout for use on a survey in England.
Recommended religious affiliation question for England
Interviewer to read:
What is your religion?
Interviewer to read options
No religion
Christian (including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and
all other Christian denominations)
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion, please describe
What is the recommended religion question for a survey in Wales?
This is the recommended religion question and layout for use on a survey in Wales.
Recommended religious affiliation question for Wales
Interviewer to read:
What is your religion?
Interviewer to read options
No religion
Christian (all denominations)
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Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion, please describe
What is the recommended religion question for a survey in Scotland?
This is the recommended religion question and layout for use on a survey in Scotland when
wanting to harmonise with the rest of GB and the UK. The recommended breakdown for Christian
denominations for Scotland (like Northern Ireland) is different to that of England and Wales. This is
in order to provide data on which to examine the differences between the main Christian groups.
However, categories can be aggregated at the main level of category for a full GB or UK output.
If it is more important to compare data sources within Scotland it is recommended to use
Scotland’s 2011 census question on religion (which asks ‘what religion, religious denomination or
body do you belong to’) or Scotland’s recommended question for social surveys which asks the
same question but includes a ‘Pagan’ response option.
Recommended religious affiliation question for Scotland
Interviewer to read:
What is your religion?
Interviewer to read options
No religion
Church of Scotland
Roman Catholic
Other Christian
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion, please describe
What is the recommended religion question for a survey in Northern Ireland?
This is the recommended religion question and layout for use on a survey in Northern Ireland. The
recommended breakdown for Christian denominations (like Scotland) differs slightly to that of
England and Wales. This is different in order to provide data on which to measure/examine
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community background (that is ‘Catholic’, ‘Protestant’ or ‘Other’) and for other purposes rather than
looking at Christian and non Christian. However, categories can be aggregated at the main level of
category for a full GB or UK output (see below).
If an interviewer is asking a question, the use of a show card is not recommended. The interviewer
should read the question and wait for a spontaneous response (note that ‘interviewer to read
options’ is omitted from display). If a response is not forthcoming, the interviewer may prompt using
the categories in the box below. A prompt is often required to follow up a response such as those
responding as ‘Protestant’ or ‘Christian’ with the question, ‘And what type of ‘Protestant or
Christian is that?’ The use of show cards and prompts should be acknowledged when comparing
data.
Recommended religious affiliation question for Northern
Ireland
Interviewer to read:
What is your religion?
No religion
Catholic
Presbyterian
Church of Ireland
Methodist
Baptist
Free Presbyterian
Brethren
Protestant – Other including not specified
Christian – Other, including not specified
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion, please describe
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What about the ‘Other’ category?
The list of religious categories provided in the recommended question is by no means definitive
and does not capture all religious diversity in the UK. For this reason, a write-in option for the ‘Any
other religion’ category is available. This category is very important for the acceptability of the
question and response rates.
What if more religious categories are needed?
Categories of religion provided in the recommendation questions by no means capture all religious
diversity within the UK. Measurement of religious diversity must take into account practical issues
surrounding data collection and presentation. If categories are not sufficient, a longer classification
could be produced (provided they can be aggregated to the main category) or it might be
necessary for some authorities to expand the ‘Other’ religion category. However, this could lead to
identification of smaller religious group. If figures produced are too small to publish then they can
be suppressed or aggregated to the relevant category or included within ‘Other’ religion (footnotes
should be included to explain what is included),
A longer classification is often used to allow greater variety of aggregations, however this can also
allow for identification of many smaller religious groups. Therefore, caution is required with analysis
of such numbers (to ensure reliability and to avoid disclosure).
How to avoid misinterpretation of religion data by users?
Because there are several dimensions to religion, talking and reading about religion or specific
religions without qualification can be confusing and lead to misinterpretation by data users.
Therefore, if presenting data from the harmonised religion question it is important to be explicit and
refer to the specific ‘concept’ being measured and that is, ‘affiliation’. It is also recommended that
when presenting data on religious affiliation it should be accompanied by a short note, such as:
Respondents were asked the question, ‘What is your religion?’ which measures affiliation that is the identification with a religion irrespective of actual practice or belief.
There should also be caution when using inappropriate terminology which can lead to confusion,
for example:
•
The term faith should not be used as an alternative to religion when referring to statistics as
this may imply a stronger connection to a religion than is actually meant. In this instance it
would be misleading to say that a ‘percentage of people have a faith’.
•
Writing about people ‘being religious’ rather than ‘having a religious affiliation’ may be
inferred as a reference to levels of practice or belief. For example it may be misleading to
state that ‘Chinese people are the least religious; in 2001 more than half said that they had
no religion’ when what is meant is ‘Chinese people are the least likely to say they have a
religious affiliation’
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Data presentation for the religious affiliation question
How should religious affiliation data be presented for England, Wales, GB and UK?
This is the recommended presentation for data on the religious affiliation question for outputs at
England, Wales, GB and UK level.
As categories of ‘Non-Response/Refusal’ are important for understanding survey responses, when
necessary, data on these categories should be included in the table and placed beneath the ‘Any
other religion’ category. If not included in the table a footnote may be necessary.
Recommended religious affiliation data presentation for
England, Wales, GB and UK
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
No religion
XXX
Christian
XXX
Buddhist
XXX
Hindu
XXX
Jewish
XXX
Muslim
XXX
Sikh
XXX
Any other religion
XXX
Respondents were asked the question, ‘What is your religion?’
which measures affiliation - that is the identification with a
religion irrespective of actual practice or belief.
How should religious affiliation data be presented for Scotland?
This is the recommended presentation for data for the harmonised question on affiliation in
Scotland. Response options remain the same for the output for the Scottish census question on
denomination. Therefore, it is important to be clear about what question is being used.
As categories of ‘Non Response/Refusal’ are important for understanding survey responses, when
necessary, data on these categories should be included in the table and placed beneath the ‘Any
other religion’ category. If not included in the table a footnote may be necessary.
Recommended religious affiliation data presentation for
Scotland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
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No religion
XXX
Church of Scotland
XXX
Roman Catholic
XXX
Other Christian
XXX
Buddhist
XXX
Hindu
XXX
Jewish
XXX
Muslim
XXX
Sikh
XXX
Any other religion
XXX
Respondents were asked the question, ‘What is your religion?’
which measures affiliation - that is the identification with a
religion irrespective of actual practice or belief.
How should religious affiliation data be presented for Northern Ireland?
This is the recommended presentation for data on the religious affiliation question for Northern
Ireland. However, presentation at this level of detail does depend very much on the numbers. For
Northern Ireland it is important to recognise that the Catholic/Protestant categorisation is often the
most policy relevant, where the necessary groups should be aggregated.
As categories of ‘Non Response/Refusal’ are important for understanding survey responses, when
necessary, data on these categories should be included in the table and placed beneath the ‘Any
other religion’ category. If not included in the table a footnote may be necessary.
Recommended religious affiliation data presentation for
Northern Ireland
Note: XXX indicates where data will be in the presentation table
No religion
XXX
Catholic
XXX
Presbyterian
XXX
Church of Ireland
XXX
Methodist
XXX
Baptist
XXX
Free Presbyterian
XXX
Brethren
XXX
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Protestant - Other including not specified
XXX
Christian - Other including not specified
XXX
Buddhist
XXX
Hindu
XXX
Jewish
XXX
Muslim
XXX
Sikh
XXX
Any other religion
XXX
Respondents were asked the question, ‘What is your religion?’
which measures affiliation - that is the identification with a
religion irrespective of actual practice or belief.
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