One of my research hypotheses is that individuals from Southeast Asia who are ethnically Chinese are more likely to experience racially motivated hate crimes than their counterparts from other ethnic groups.
Respondents were recruited via non-probability sampling methods for my survey, and the data gathered for the hypothesis above are all nominal, with a sample size of 300, which means that the nonparametric Chi square test of independence is the most appropriate method of analyses.
However, there were 8 choices for ethnic groups (reflecting the heterogeneity of ethnicities in Southeast Asia) including the choice for "Chinese". I am expecting a frequency of < 5 in some of those cells due to the lack of response from individuals from particular ethnic groups. Is it appropriate then / even possible , to combine Chi-square test of independence with a Fisher Exact Test (to be used only for the ethnic groups with expected frequency of < 5)? Otherwise, how else go about the analysis?
