This Survey Did Not Define It as Sexual Intercourse: Non-Heterosexual Women’s Participation in Demographic Surveys

• In Event: 380 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Measurement

Abstract

Surveys occupy a privileged and powerful position in the world of social science research. It is important to interrogate our methods in order to understand how they are serving us, and how we might do better. The way we collect data matters for the subsequent knowledge produced. This has been established, in part, by the rich history of experiments in the field of survey methodology to improve and refine every part of the research process, from sampling to questionnaire design. Survey researchers and sociologists of sexuality have good reason to believe that the experiences of non-heterosexual women might differ from their straight counterparts’, and this would both impact the data collected and knowledge about non-heterosexualities. This study sets out to investigate the experiences of non-heterosexual women participating in a demographic fertility study through in-depth interviews. I systematically identify women with an LGBTQ identity and/or same-sex experiences participating in a representative survey, and recruit a sub-sample to interview. I outline four preliminary themes: (1) unambiguous definitions of sex are necessary and function to get the researchers what they intended, (2) respondents see their participation in research as meaningful and helpful to others, (3) questions about risk perception are often not interpreted in statistical terms, and (4) respondents will take advantage of open-ended survey items to disclose extra information or frustrations that are not explicitly collected. I conclude with some ideas about why these findings are consequential for survey researchers and for sociologists of sexuality, and propose future research in these areas.

Author

• Jamie Louise Budnick, University of Michigan