Methodological issues in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Assessment research on ethnic minorities presents multiple methodological and conceptual challenges. This article addresses the difficulties in defining and examining ethnicity as a variable in psychological research. The authors assert that many of the problems stem from not making explicit the assumptions underlying the use of ethnicity as an explanatory variable and from inadequately describing cultural and contextual characteristics of ethnic minority samples. Also raised are common methodological problems encountered in examining race, ethnicity, and culture in assessment research, such as decisions regarding which populations to study, sampling methodologies, measure selection, method of assessment, and interpretation of results. Finally some guidelines are offered for tackling some of the methodological dilemmas in assessment research with ethnic minorities.