Documenting the Victimization of Lesbians and Gay Men: Methodological Issues (From Hate Crimes: Confronting Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men, P 270-286, 1992, Gregory M Herek and Kevin T Berrill, eds. -- See NCJ-134558)

• NCJ Number: 134566
• Author(s): G M Herek; K T Berrill
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This paper provides practical suggestions and resources for researchers and community activists who plan to conduct a victimization survey of their local gay and lesbian community.

Abstract

In planning the survey, the first step is to determine what kinds of data are desired and how they will be used. Which items are most appropriate for inclusion in the questionnaire will depend on how the survey results will be used. Survey planning also requires the prioritizing of questions. The questionnaire should be short and include only those questions directly related to survey goals. Planning must consider the resources of money and time. Immediate deadlines generally require a costlier survey. Sampling is another important aspect of the survey. Ideally the sample should be representative of the larger population; however, the obtaining of a representative sample of lesbians and gay men is not a realistic possibility for most surveys. Researchers unable to draw a representative sample should try to collect data from as diverse a group of respondents as possible and identify the subgroups they failed to reach. Other topics discussed in the paper are the design of the survey instrument, data collection, data analysis, and the report on survey results. Appended sample survey instrument, 1 note, and 10 references