Testing and Implementing Sexual Orientation 

and Gender Identity (SOGI) Questions in the 

American Community Survey (ACS) 

Elizabeth A. Poehler and Jessica Holzberg

U.S. Census Bureau

Presented at the 2023 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Conference

October 25, 2023

Disclaimer: All views expressed are those of the authors 

and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Surveys 3.5 million addresses each year and 

covers 40+ topics

• The sample covers both the United States 

(“stateside”) and Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico 

Community Survey, or PRCS)

• Data are collected for people in Housing Units and 

in Group Quarters facilities (like dorms, prisons, 

and nursing homes)

The American Community Survey (ACS)

2
Data Collection Process

3

Online Response Paper Questionnaire Computer-Assisted Interviewing

In-Person and Telephone

Self-Response

(about 8 weeks)

Nonresponse Follow-up 

(about 4 weeks)
How a Question Becomes Part of the ACS 

Proposal

• A federal agency 

proposes a new or 

changed question.

• Requests undergo legal, 

technical, and policy 

review.

• OMB and Census Bureau 

decide whether the 

change has merit.

Testing

• Wording options are 

created and cognitively 

tested.

• Question performance is 

evaluated in a field test.

• A Federal Register 

Notice is published for 

the test.

Evaluation

• Test results are reviewed 

by the Census Bureau 

and requesting federal 

agency.

• The Census Bureau 

solicits public comment 

through a Federal 

Register Notice.

Decision

• A final decision is made 

in consultation with the 

OMB and Interagency 

Council on Statistical 

Policy (ICSP) 

Subcommittee on the 

ACS.

• If approved, the Census 

Bureau implements the 

change.

4
Adding SOGI Content on the ACS

 Proposal

• The Department of 

Justice requested SOGI 

data.

• A legal review of the 

request confirmed that 

it met the strict 

requirements for adding 

content to the ACS.

Testing

• Wording options are 

created

• Cognitive testing is 

conducted.

• Question performance is 

evaluated in a field test.

• A Federal Register 

Notice was published.

Evaluation

• Test results are reviewed 

by the Census Bureau 

and requesting federal 

agency.

• The Census Bureau 

solicits public comment 

through a Federal 

Register Notice.

Decision

• A final decision is made 

in consultation with the 

OMB and Interagency 

Council on Statistical 

Policy (ICSP) 

Subcommittee on the 

ACS.

• If approved, the Census 

Bureau implements the 

change.

5
Wording Options

6
Collaboration and Research

• Recommendations from Research

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Report: 

Measuring Sex, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation (2022)

OMB Recommendations on the Best Practices for the Collection of SOGI Data 

on Federal Statistical Surveys (2023)

• Interagency Working Group on Measuring Sexual Orientation and 

Gender Identity (2015-2016)

Current SOGI Measures Report (2016), Evaluation of SOGI Measures Report 

(2016), SOGI Research Agenda Report (2016)

• Measuring Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Research Group 

(2017-present)

Updates on SOGI Terminology Report (2020)

7
Considerations for Asking SOGI on the ACS

• Response modes: self-response and interviewer-administered

• Respondents: self and proxy response 

• One person responds for themselves and for other members of the 

household

• Language: English and Spanish

8
Sexual Orientation Question

• Aligns with NASEM and OMB 

recommendations

• Reworded for proxy reporting

• An explicit “Don’t Know” option is 

not offered for any questions on 

the ACS

• Only one version of the question 

being tested

9
Gender Identity

10

• Two-step question

• Questions replace the sex question on the ACS 

(What is Person 2’s sex? )

• Similar to NASEM recommendation, except: o Question stem reworded for proxy response o Removed language about birth certificate in 

sex assigned at birth question

o Male and Female category order matches 

other Census Bureau surveys

o Added nonbinary category to current gender 

question

• Current Gender question skipped for people 

under 15
Gender Identity Treatments

11

Treatment 2: More than one response option 

can be marked. Treatment 1: Only one response option can 

be marked.
Confirmation Question for Gender Identity

• Automated modes only 

• Not included on the paper questionnaire

• Question is asked when Sex Assigned at Birth and Current Gender 

responses don’t match 

• We will ask the question for everyone in the test to get a bigger picture of 

measurement error

12
13

CURRENT QUESTION

How is this person related to Person 1?

Mark (X) ONE box.

 Opposite-sex husband/wife/spouse

 Opposite-sex unmarried partner

 Same-sex husband/wife/spouse

 Same-sex unmarried partner

 Biological son or daughter

 Adopted son or daughter

 Stepson or Stepdaughter

 Brother or sister

 Father or mother

 Grandchild

 Parent-in-law

 Son-in-law or daughter-in-law

 Other relative

 Roommate or housemate

 Foster child

 Other nonrelative

PROPOSED QUESTION

How is this person related to Person 1?

Mark (X) ONE box.

 Spouse

 Unmarried partner

 Biological child

 Adopted child

 Stepchild

 Sibling

 Parent

 Grandchild

 Parent-in-law

 Son-in-law or Daughter-in-law

 Other relative

 Roommate or housemate

 Foster child

 Other nonrelative

Relationship 

Question
Fertility Question Instructions and Pronoun Changes

• Skip instruction for fertility 

question updated

• People assigned female at 

birth should answer

14

• Removal of “his/her” 

pronouns throughout 

questionnaire 

• Most commonly replacing 

with “their”

was assigned female at birth

their
Cognitive Testing

15
Cognitive Testing

• Testing to be conducted in collaboration with RTI across all four 

modes of the ACS

• 64 English interviews, 80 stateside Spanish interviews, 74 Puerto Rico 

Spanish interviews

• Respondent Recruitment: Split between those with LGBTQIA+ 

identities and those who are straight/cisgender

16
Cognitive Testing Goals

• Assess respondents’ ability to comprehend and answer SOGI across 

languages, survey modes, and subgroups (e.g., sexual/gender 

identities, education level, geography)

• Probe respondents on willingness and ability to proxy report

• Evaluate performance of the “nonbinary” category in the current 

gender question

• Evaluate performance of the gender-neutral relationship categories

• Evaluate performance of fertility skip and pronoun changes

• Collect preliminary feedback on a question about intersex status

17
Intersex Question

• Almost no information about how this type of question would perform in a 

representative federal survey

• Researchers and stakeholders are increasingly interested in this type of 

data

• Cognitive interviews can provide some very preliminary feedback to one of 

the NASEM recommendations:

Were you born with a variation in your physical sex characteristics? This is

sometimes called being intersex or having a difference in sex development, or DSD.

Yes

No

• Intersex question will only be included in cognitive testing; not in the field 

test

18
Field Test

19
Field Test Plans

• Field test planned to occur in the summer of 2024

• Initial testing will focus on self-response modes: internet and paper

• 2 wording treatments

• Sample: 240,000 cases per treatment

20
Content Followup (CFU) Reinterview

• CFU measures response reliability and is the main data source for 

assessing SOGI proxy response 

• Some CFU cases will be conducted with the same respondent as the original 

interview

• Some CFU cases will be conducted with a different respondent (adult) 

• Compare reliability between same and proxy respondents

• Will also compare SOGI reliability to other questions

21
ACS SOGI Content: Tentative Timeline

22

2023

•Proposal

2023-24

•Testing 

Preparations

2024

•Cognitive & 

Field Testing

2024 -

2025

•Evaluate 

Results

2025

•Solicit 

Public 

Comment & 

Request 

OMB 

Clearance

2026*

•Implement 

Approved 

Changes

*2026 is the earliest 

possible implementation.
Thank you!

Elizabeth.Poehler@census.gov

23