A Mixed Methods Approach to Analyzing Racial Categories

• In Event: Research in Progress Roundtable Session 3
  In Invited Roundtable: Education Research Methods: Narrative Data Collection, Experimental Design, Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods, and Longitudinal Count Data Analysis (Table 17)

Abstract

In early 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) opened a public comment period about proposed revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15. During the comment period, over 20,000 individual comments were submitted providing insight into public opinion regarding how race and ethnicity should be collected and the potential consequences of the proposed revisions. Our team utilized a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach and Natural Language Processing techniques to examine how education was involved in comments about revisions to SPD 15. This paper discusses the necessity of utilizing a mixed methods approach when using Natural Language Processing techniques to analyze topics related to race and ethnicity.

Author

• Joseph Sturm, Pennsylvania State University