This report from the Pew Research Center summarizes findings from a national phone survey of 3,511 Asian Americans conducted from January-March 2012, in English and seven Asian languages. The sample was designed to enable findings to be reported about each of the six largest country of origin subgroups (Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans and Japanese Americans) as well as about the Asian-American population as a whole. The report combines these survey findings with a detailed analysis of economic and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other official sources.
While national surveys focused on Asian Americans are rare and therefore welcomed, the report unfortunately perpetuates misconceptions about Asian Americans with headlines that are based on aggregated data from the diverse group of Asian American respondents as a whole, masking the significant differences between Asian American subgroups. The data contained within the report itself highlights these differences on almost every issue surveyed but the headlines and executive summary erase those differences. The report also does not include data about Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders although many data sets lump together these additional populations together with Asian Americans.
Numerous national Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations have publicly criticized this miscommunication of the data in the report, including the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans.
The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life issued a second report based on the same survey that focuses on the religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices of Asian Americans. In the months ahead, the Pew Research Center will release additional reports on other topics related to Asian Americans.
Ignatius Bau 