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@shu.ac.uk> wrote:
Thanks for that - yes, non-binary is probably better than other, thinking about it. ________________________________________ From: Kinloch, Karen [k.kinloch@lancaster.ac.uk] Sent: 13 April 2016 14:11 To: Sarah Merry; Deller, Ruth A Cc: Air-L@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@listserv.aoir.org] on behalf of Sarah Merry [ skmerry@gmail.com] Sent: 13 April 2016 14:03 To: Deller, Ruth A Cc: Air-L@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@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@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Sarah Merry Sent: 13 April 2016 11:28 To: sky c; Air-L@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@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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