Self-Reported vs Administrative Race/Ethnicity Data and Study Results

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.92.9.1471
• Publication Date: 2008-12-02T00:04:35Z
• Authors: Ulrike Boehmer; Nancy R. Kressin; Dan R. Berlowitz; Cindy L. Christia...; Lewis E. Kazis; Judith A. Jones
• Keywords: Quality Control; Self Disclosure; United States; Root Canal Therapy; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Databases as Topic; Health Care Surveys; Tooth Extraction; Ethnicity; Odds Ratio; Humans; Veterans

Concerns about administrative data on race/ethnicity have led some researchers to consider self-reported as superior.1–5 However, few studies examined the differential impact of source data, that is, observed or selfreported, study outcomes. We investigated whether differences in reporting different results with regard use one therapeutic dental procedure, root canal therapy.