The study says: "Additionally, a single item from wave 20 of ANES was used to assess whether participants held the stereotype that blacks are violent. Participants responded to the item “How well does the word ‘violent’ describe most blacks?” using five response categories ranging from 1 = “extremely well”, to 5 = “not at all well” (i.e. extremely well, very well, moderately well, slightly well, or not at all well). The item was coded so that a response of extremely well or very well, indicated endorsement of the black violent stereotype (coded 1), with other responses coded as 0, did not endorse stereotype blacks are violent."

The question "How well does the word 'violent' describe most blacks?" was asked, with lower scores indicating racism. However, this question implies that it is asking about how well the word 'violent' describes blacks compared to other races, such as whites, asians, etc (e.g. "Does the word 'violent' describe most blacks, compared to other races, such as whites, asians, etc").

"According to Beureau of Justice statistics, data show that from 1976 to 2005, black victims were killed by blacks 94% of the time." ... "Overall, more than half the nation's homicide victims are African-American, though blacks make up only 13% of the total U.S. population. Of those black murder victims, 85% were men, mostly young men." Source: http://online.wsj.com/new...

Based on these statistics alone, it would be accurate to claim that blacks are more violent in the U.S *compared to other races*. Therefore, if a person interpreted the question in the way described they would be correct, but would they necessarily be racist?