PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT An estimate of genetic ancestry is typically included as a control in a genetic association test. This estimate of ancestry dovetails closely with conceptualization of human populations in genetic analysis. Other fields have different ways and different motivations for grouping individuals into populations, such as the OMB categories for race. From a social science point of view the stakes are high; they fear that the way statistical geneticists are starting to use the concept of ancestry will end up reifying race as a biological category. This project aims first to describe, using a schema that we will develop, how the population concept is used across different disciplines relevant to the study of genetic associations. This will help identify points of tension. We will attempt to resolve these through a normative project that refines this schema by identifying how the terms should be used. This will be an interdisciplinary endeavor resulting in guidelines for use of the population and ancestry concepts across these disciplines.