Jun 09, 2016 11:13 AM EDT By Marcus Vaflor, UniversityHerald Reporter

Despite being one of the fastest-growing demographics in the United States, information about Asian Americans remains underdeveloped. To remedy this, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has granted federal funds to a  multi-university team of researchers to study this diverse and increasingly influential racial group.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate dean of the Riverside School of Public Policy at University California (UC) and a professor public policy and science, will lead the team composed of UC Irvine Sociology Professor Jennifer Lee, UC Berkeley Political Science and Law Professor Taeku Lee, and University of Maryland Asian American Studies Program Director Janelle Wong.

Although, the NSF-backed survey will use federal funds back amounting to $500,700, it promises to be the most extensive of its kind yet, University of California reported.

The survey will attempt to paint the role of Asian Americans in today's modern society by focusing on three main themes: immigrant and second-generation incorporation, race and ethnic relations and attitudes, and civic and political participation.

Those who participate in the study will be asked their personal history including their thoughts on immigration, behavior towards fellow Asian Americans and other racial groups, and civic and political involvement.

Participants will roughly include 3,600 people taken from the six main Asian ethnic groups in the U.S.: Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese.

According to Ramakrishnan, the comprehensive study is an unprecedented chance to study the dynamics of the Asian American population and how members interact with their peers and other racial groups as well.

Lee agreed and said the growing population of Asian Americans makes the study more imperative than ever. He added the data gathered from this project will finally help unravel the socio-economic, political and civil culture of AAPIs (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Berkeley News reported.

The total Asian American population is currently pegged at 20 million, or more than 6 percent of the entire of the U.S. population. The NSF previously also released federal funds to to finance two similar studies which were conducted last 2008 and 2012. 

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