Rethinking the use of race and other labels in genetics research

Rethinking the use of race and other labels in genetics research

Select recommendations

  • Not use race as a proxy for human genetic variation. In particular, they should not assign genetic ancestry labels to individuals based on their race, regardless of whether the label was self-identified.
  • Apply labels consistently to all participants. For example, if ethnicity is the most appropriate descriptor, all participants should be assigned an ethnicity label, rather than labeling some by race and others by ethnicity.
  • Be attentive to the connotations and impacts of terminology they use to label groups. The report points to the term “Caucasian” as an example, explaining it should not be used under any circumstance because it was originally coined to convey the notion of white supremacy.
  • Disclose the process by which they select and assign group labels. If researchers develop new labels for existing samples, researchers should provide a description of the differences between the new and old labels.

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