Analysing the Lives of LGBTI People - Survey Approaches to LGBTI Persons, Couples and Families 1 |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Stephanie Steinmetz (University of Amsterdam) |
| Coordinator 2 | Ms Mirjam Fischer (University of Amsterdam) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Nancy Bates (U.S. Census Bureau) |
In recent years, much progress has been made in the US, Europe and beyond with regard to legislation that is supportive and protective of LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans persons). While these achievements are laudable, it is important to keep evaluating to what extent structural obstacles to equality remain. Compared to research on other minority groups, sexual minorities have been studied quantitatively much less in the social sciences. Yet, scholars have continuously made efforts to overcome the methodological challenges associated with studying this population quantitatively. This is an important development which should be encouraged and continued.
This session invites contributions showcasing research around the challenges, successes, and best practices when collecting data on sexual minorities. In particular contributions addressing one of the four areas are welcome:
1) How to sample LGBT populations? (e.g. what are common strategies for designing sampling frames intended at capturing LGBT populations? Which advantages and disadvantages in terms of data quality can be detected?);
2) How to measure sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in large-scale, general-population surveys and polls? (e.g. Can sexual orientation be collected by proxy in surveys that use a single household informant? How can issues of cross-cultural validity, language and interviewer effects be addressed? Does the addition of SOGI items harm unit response rates in surveys that do not typically collect such items?);
3)How to estimate the size of LGBT populations (e.g. are there besides surveys alternative inventive methods, such as administrative records or internet web-scraping, for producing valid LGBT population estimates? In the absence of large representative demographic survey data, are there ways to extrapolate from non-random, small area, snowball, or convenience samples?;
4) as issues around SOGI are increasingly visible on the agenda of governments and governmental organizations around the globe the session also invites contributions which highlight best practices how the SOGI topic can most efficiently and successfully be approached?
In addition, this session also invites submissions that focus on topical survey results around LGBT populations such as physical and mental health disparities, income inequality, hate crimes, and household and family structures. The session hopes to draw a cross-section of submissions from different countries and different survey experiences.