The validity of Australian ancestry statistics

"This article examines the contrast between objective and subjective perceptions of ancestry hidden in the 1986 [Australian] Census definitions which vitiates the published results and points to the limitations of validating uncertain collections by relating them to cognate series. It looks at the collection of ancestry statistics as a bold attempt at an impossible task which has yielded results that are often inaccurate, sometimes misleading and liable to abuse in their interpretation. It is suggested that some of the features of cultural structure could be more reliably ascertained by small sample surveys of perceptions and aspirations."

Ethnic origin in the Australian census

"This article discusses the Australian statistics of ethnic origin, collected under the headings of race and ancestry in the Australian census, with particular reference to conceptual precision and neutrality and to validity of results. It deals with European and non-European groups, but not with the special problems of counting the Australian aboriginal population."