Measuring discrimination accurately will also require researchers to not only capture the multiple domains of discrimination but to ensure that adequate questions are asked in each domain. In the assessment of multiple phenomena, survey methodologists find that multiple questions about components of a phenomenon will provide a more accurate level than a few global questions (Schaeffer and Presser 2003). Multiple questions are more likely to clearly convey what is being asked and to yield a more thorough search of memory. For example, researchers have found that population-based reports of alcohol consumption markedly under-report alcohol use compared to data on taxable alcohol available for consumption. However, assessing alcohol use with detailed, within-location, beverage-specific questions (asking respondents whether they had consumed specific alcoholic beverages, at any of several specific locations and then about how much and how often they drank in each location) accounted for 94% of the taxable alcohol available for consumption compared to the 40–60% with standard alcohol use questions (Casswell et al. 2002). For each class of discriminatory experiences, similar attention should be given to ensuring that all relevant contexts and components are assessed.
