Sex and gender demographic questions: improving methodological quality, inclusivity, and ethical administration

ABSTRACT

There is increasing concern among researchers about collecting data on sex and gender variables, yet many researchers are unsure of how to deal meaningfully with these variables. Drawing on literature that tests the psychometric properties of sex and gender demographic questions, we present considerations for collecting sex and gender demographic data. Extant literature suggests that asking asingle question to collect both sex and gender data contributes to nonresponse bias and the misclassification of asignificant proportion of gender minority participants. Aminimum of two questions, one asking sex assigned at birth and one asking gender identity, are recommended for the reduction of measurement error and the ethical treatment of gender minority individuals. We offer acritical discussion of options for these questions, with advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Clarifying demographic questions is crucial to methodological and ethical rigour of research engaging sex and gender data.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender identity
• sex
• questionnaire methodology
• demographic data
• gender minorities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Teri Slade

Teri Slade is a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Medicine studying the relationship of gendered social factors to pain. She advocates for a complex model of gender that is both socially and societally contextual. Skilled in both qualitative and quantitative research, Teri engages broadly in local communities to work our fields toward the highest standard of ethical and methodological rigour, particularly toward LGBTQ+ research participants and patients. She works as a research coordinator for projects investigating the utility of musicians’ health education for occupational resiliency and health literacy among post-secondary music students.

Douglas Gross is a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta. He is also Director of the Rehabilitation Research Centre, a research consulting organization at the University of Alberta. Doug’s research focuses on preventing disability in people with physical and mental health conditions. This includes investigating effectiveness of clinical and public health interventions, barriers to return-to-work, and validity of assessment/triage strategies such as use of clinical decision support tools.

Leigh Niwa is a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Medicine, researching the behavioural aspects of physical activity in individuals undergoing total hip/knee replacement. They completed their MSc in Physiotherapy and spent multiple years as a clinician in both public and private practice, focusing on orthopedic injuries. Currently they work in health informatics, translating clinical knowledge into system design of electronic health records and data management systems for Alberta Health Service.

Ashley McKillop is a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Her research aims to develop clinically relevant approaches to improve rehabilitation interventions and service delivery for children with disabilities and their families. She also has a particular interest in strategies that enhance uptake of research into clinical practice for clinicians, children and families.

Dr.Christine Guptill is Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is also Vice Chair of Research for the Performing Arts Medicine Association. She holds a BSc Biology and PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from Western University (Canada), and a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University. Her program of research focuses on musicians’ health from an occupational health perspective. Christine designed and taught the only university credit course to address musicians’ health in Canada, which is now the focus of a research study examining blended (Internet and face to face) learning to improve occupational resilience among post-secondary music students, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.