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International Handbook on the Demography of Sexuality pp 21–42Cite as

Best Practices: Collecting and Analyzing Data on Sexual Minorities

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Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Population ((IHOP,volume 5))

Abstract

High profile public policy debates about the rights of sexual minorities to enact legally sanctioned relationships, parent children, serve in the military, and live and work in environments free of harassment and discrimination have heightened the need for high quality scientific data on sexual minorities. The United States Federal Government’s Healthy People 2020 objectives include a goal to, “improve the health, safety, and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2010). The document suggests that sexual minorities face health disparities linked to stigma, discrimination, and denial of their civil and human rights and notes the general lack of quality data that identifies sexual minorities and transgender individuals.

This chapter is largely an edited version of the report, “Best Practices for Asking Questions about Sexual Orientation on Surveys” (Williams Institute 2009), which presents findings from a multi-year effort of an expert panel of scholars from several disciplines in the health and social sciences. The document from which this chapter was adapted can be found at http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/SMART-FINAL-Nov-2009.pdf.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Author analyses of 2009 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample.

  2. 2.

    Author analyses of 2010 U.S. Decennial Census data.

  3. 3.

    These items are recommended for use in assessing the dimensions of sexual orientation for surveys of adults. For a discussion of the assessment of these dimensions among youth, please see the section of this chapter entitled, “Developmental and Cultural Considerations in Collecting Data on Sexual Orientation.”

  4. 4.

    Dr. Randall Sell and Dr. Kerith Conron worked with a team at NCHS to test the suggested question. Dr. Kristen Miller, Director of the Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory, designed and oversaw the testing. A manuscript discussing the findings is under review for publication.

  5. 5.

    Information about the performance of this measure can be found at http://www.lgbttobacco.org/resources.php?ID=19.

  6. 6.

    In addition, researchers affiliated with the NSFG and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions indicated the same finding about the break-offs to the expert panel convened to facilitate the development of the report upon which this chapter is based (http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/SMART-FINAL-Nov-2009.pdf).

  7. 7.

    See, for example, the Research Triangle Institute web site at http://www.rti.org/page.cfm?objectid=B4634C77-0F07-45CC-96B00E2C2CF7D766

  8. 8.

    Based on personal communications, R. McCormick, Dir. Vermont BRFSS, March 5, 2007; M. Ostrem, Research Dir., Boston Public Health Commission, Boston BRFSS, March 21, 2007.

  9. 9.

    Based on author calculation of the 2002 NSFG public-use data file.

  10. 10.

    Beginning with the 2008 ACS, the Census Bureau has changed both the survey and post-data collection editing techniques. These changes will likely reduce the rate of sex miscoding among different-sex spouses.

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    Laura E. Durso & Gary J. Gates

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    Amanda K. Baumle

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Durso, L.E., Gates, G.J. (2013). Best Practices: Collecting and Analyzing Data on Sexual Minorities. In: Baumle, A. (eds) International Handbook on the Demography of Sexuality. International Handbooks of Population, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5512-3_3

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