[Air-L] Gender and surveys

Wed Apr 13 06:32:04 PDT 2016

Hello - As an example of affirming gender diversity, this report might be
useful in developing survey items.
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/docs/default-source/research-project-files/bw0268-from-blues-to-rainbows-report-final-report.pdf?sfvrsn=2

The Blues to Rainbows report, from the Centre I used to work at, the
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society. Although the report
is not focused on the research you're discussing it does include items
related to sex assigned at birth and gender identities of participants.

Warm regards
Natalie

On 13 April 2016 at 23:27, Sarah Merry <skmerry at gmail.com> wrote:

> Agreed - I think I'll use that, next time I need gender information.
> Thanks!
>
> On 13 April 2016 at 14:25, Deller, Ruth A <R.A.Deller at shu.ac.uk> wrote:
>
> > Thanks for that - yes, non-binary is probably better than other, thinking
> > about it.
> > ________________________________________
> > From: Kinloch, Karen [k.kinloch at lancaster.ac.uk]
> > Sent: 13 April 2016 14:11
> > To: Sarah Merry; Deller, Ruth A
> > Cc: Air-L at listserv.aoir.org
> > Subject: RE: [Air-L] Gender and surveys
> >
> > I use male/female/prefer not to say and then rather than other use
> > non-binary and that seemed to be agreeable to the students who took the
> > survey.
> >
> > Karen Kinloch
> >
> > Department of English Language and Linguistics
> > Lancaster University
> > @Karrie_Don
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > From: Air-L [air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] on behalf of Sarah Merry [
> > skmerry at gmail.com]
> > Sent: 13 April 2016 14:03
> > To: Deller, Ruth A
> > Cc: Air-L at listserv.aoir.org
> > Subject: Re: [Air-L] Gender and surveys
> >
> > I'm cautious of using 'other', since it can be offensive to some people.
> > Though it is difficult to know what to use in its place.
> >
> > I used 'trans*' with an asterisk because my reading at the time suggested
> > it was the best option.  I wouldn't use it now, because I think it is (or
> > rather can be) problematic in itself.
> >
> > I tried to find some clear and straightforward guidance to the best way
> of
> > asking for gender in research and couldn't.  (My supervisors weren't much
> > help because they couldn't really see past the binary.)
> >
> > Some students in my research methods classes have also mentioned it as a
> > difficult issue, so it looks as though that this question is going to run
> > and run.
> >
> > On 13 April 2016 at 13:46, Deller, Ruth A <R.A.Deller at shu.ac.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > I mainly use male, female, other and sometimes 'prefer not to say'
> > > depending on how important gender is to the research. With 'other', I
> > > usually have a text box for people to write in. I don't tend to use
> > 'trans'
> > > as a separate term because many trans people identify as either male or
> > > female rather than 'other' or non-binary, and there are people who are
> > > non-binary but wouldn't necessarily call themselves trans.  It depends
> on
> > > what your research involves-if you are working with trans or
> genderqueer
> > > communities specifically, you might want to have a selection of
> different
> > > identity options around that.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Air-L [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of
> Sarah
> > > Merry
> > > Sent: 13 April 2016 11:28
> > > To: sky c; Air-L at listserv.aoir.org
> > > Subject: Re: [Air-L] Gender and surveys
> > >
> > > In my PhD three/four years ago I used radio buttons (male / female /
> > > trans*) plus a text box for anyone who felt they could not click one of
> > > the buttons. This was successful, in that some (about 2% IIRC)
> > respondents
> > > used the text box.
> > >
> > > Now I mostly just use a text box, or don't ask for gender at all.
> > >
> > > Sarah Merry
> > >
> > > On 13 April 2016 at 02:43, sky c <skyc at riseup.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I seem to be sending a similar email quite often lately, so I thought
> > > > it might be worth sending out a version to the list more generally.
> > > >
> > > > Many of the surveys I see sent out over this list still include a
> > > > 'gender' option that offers users the choice of only 'male' or
> > 'female'.
> > > > If you're developing a survey to send out, it might be worth
> > > > considering:
> > > > * Whether gender is relevant to your research question/topic? (If
> not,
> > > > you may consider leaving out a question about gender)
> > > > * Offering more options for gender. Gender is complex, and many
> people
> > > > don't identify as either male or female. Offering an option for a
> text
> > > > field is a useful way to allow people to answer the question
> honestly:
> > > > http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/11/26/disalienation/
> > > >
> > > > I'm also curious how people who are already addressing the gender
> > > > spectrum in research surveys are approaching this: do you use a text
> > > > field, 'male'/'female'/'other', or something else?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > sky.
> > > >
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-- 
*Natalie Hendry*
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