Hello Su-Laine,
Interesting question!
One reason might be: researchers don't think that these questions are
important for their particular interest.
Or: if your sample is small then these items could help to identify the person.
Also, it depends on the general culture or demographics of your
country. In some countries it is normal that e.g. the government in a
census asks you these questions. In Germany, it would become a public
outcry if the government asked people about their "race". By the way,
there is now a discussion ongoing that Germany should erase the word
"race" from its constitution ("no discrimination because of race
[...]") as race does not exist.
I now had a problem writing about the anti harassment policies of the
WMF, because the word "race" appears there. I solved the problem by
putting "race" in quotation marks.
In Germany, pollsters stopped a long time ago asking voters for their
denomination. It turned out that the difference (protestant vs.
catholic) was no longer relevant. It seems to be relevant, though,
"how often do you attend church". Other denominations in Germany are
traditionally small, although islam is in the rise (ca. 4% if I
remember correctly).
It would be interesting to have research about what Wikipedia related
surveys actually ask about the participants. If I remember correctly,
in German speaking countries researchers ask about gender but hardly
ethnicity, religion or "race".
I would like to read what others think about, or whether there are
specific issues with Wikipedia related research. E.g., one might think
that race is more relevant for face-to-face-communication than in
online communication, although that would be a reduced view on the
issue.
Kind regards
Ziko
Am Mo., 21. Sept. 2020 um 07:19 Uhr schrieb Su-Laine Brodsky
<sulai...@gmail.com>:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I’m wondering if any large-scale surveys have been done that ask Wikipedia
> editors about their race, ethnicity, or religion?
> Also, have any researchers considered asking these questions in editor
> surveys, but chosen not to ask them for particular reasons?
>
> Best wishes,
> Su-Laine
>
> Su-Laine Brodsky
> Vancouver, BC
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