Race and ethnicity as variables in Nursing Research, 1952-2000

Background: Although the use of race and ethnicity as variables in research has increased over the past five decades, there is confusion regarding the meaning of the terms, as well as how the words are defined and determined in scientific inquiry. Objective: To review the use of race and ethnicity as variables in nursing research literature. Methods: Original research articles published in Nursing Research in the ye ars, 1952, 1955, and every 5 years thereafter through 2000 were reviewed. T hose articles describing human characteristics (N = 337) were analyzed for content concerning: (a) frequency of racial and ethnic terms, (b) words use d for racial and ethnic categories, (c) definitions of racial and ethnic te rms, and (d) how a study participant's race or ethnicity was determined. Results: Racial and ethnic variables were mentioned in 167 of the 337 revie wed articles. Eighty-one terms and word phrases were used for these variabl es. In only five articles were the variables defined. Race and ethnic label s were often intermixed and the majority of studies provided no information about how categorization of the participant's race or ethnicity was made. In addition, there was relatively little growth in the number of studies th at had racial/ethnic groups, other than Whites, as the majority of the samp le. Conclusion: Racial and ethnic variables provide nurse researchers with many challenges. Although race and ethnicity were widely used in Nursing Resear ch articles, the categories were not defined in the majority of papers, and methods used to determine a participant's race or ethnicity were unclear. In order to construct a common and consistent understanding of racial and e thnic categories, nurse researchers should be explicit regarding the ration ale related to their use of the categories and the assumptions underlying p articular racial and ethnic categorizations.