Literal question
Section A: Information for persons in the household -- ask of everyone
[Section A of this form, each question has 10 answer rows for writing individual answers for up to 10 individuals in the household. Only the first is shown here, which is exactly the same as the other nine.]
P-06. Population group
_ How would (the person) describe him/herself in terms of population group?
1 = Black African
2 = Coloured
3 = Indian or Asian
4 = White
5 = Other (specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Interviewer instructions
Question P-06 -- Population group
"How would (the person) describe him/herself in terms of population group?"
Read the categories to the respondent.
Ask for everybody even if the population group seems obvious. Remember also that persons of different population groups do sometimes form part of the same household, so you cannot assume the population group of any household member.
There are also cases where the answer may not be not straightforward. Not everyone falls clearly into one of the four categories. The decision always rests with the respondent. Do not suggest anything. For example, the head of the household may be black African and the spouse may be white. They must decide whether or not to describe the children as coloured.
[P. 39]
That is their choice. Under no circumstances may the response be queried; it should be accepted as a fact.
The category "Other" is for people who do not see themselves as belonging to any of the four categories listed. In this case write the response in small capital letters (away from the boxes) on the dotted line, and write "5" in the box.