Where can I find an on-line version of a study that I read about in
the New York Times a few years ago? The gist of it was that many white
people who take a politically conservative viewpoint also greatly
overestimate the number of people in the U.S. who are members of
minority groups. (For example if the percentage of Americans who are
of Asian descent is actually 8%, these people thought the number was
closer to 20% and so on.)

Couldn't find anyting in the Times about the study you were talking
about but a perusal of some online databases turned up some articles
you might be interested in. I have PDFs of the following if you are
interested.

Miscounting race: Explaining whites' misconceptions of racial group size
Charles A Gallagher. Sociological Perspectives. Greenwich: Fall 2003.
Vol. 46, Iss. 3; p. 381

Innumeracy about minority populations: African Americans and Whites compared
Lee Sigelman, Richard G Niemi. Public Opinion Quarterly. Chicago:
Spring 2001. Vol. 65, Iss. 1; p. 86 (9 pages)

Innumeracy about minority populations.Nadeau, Richard, Niemi, Richard
G, Levine, Jeffrey. Public Opinion Quarterly. Chicago: Fall 1993. Vol.
57, Iss. 3; p. 332 (16 pages)

Dan Rinsema-Sybenga