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Chapter 2: Research Methods in Human Sexuality

CONTENTS

CHAPTER-AT-A-GLANCE

DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLINE

A Scientific Approach to Human Sexuality

Population and Samples: Representing the World of Diversity

Methods of Observation

Correlation

The Experimental Method

Ethics in Sex Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

KEY TERMS

LECTURE LAUNCHERS

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

WEB RESOURCES

VIDEO/MEDIA/SUGGESTED READINGS

Chapter 2: Research Methods in Human Sexuality

Chapter-at-a-Glance
Chapter 2
Outline / Instructor’s
Resources / Professor
Notes
A Scientific Approach to Human Sexuality, p. 41
The Scientific Method
Goals of the Science of Human Sexuality / Learning Objectives 2.1–2.2
Populations and Samples:Representing the World of Diversity, p. 42
Sampling Methods / Learning Objective 2.3
Lecture Launcher 2.1
Methods of Observation,p. 43
The Case Study Method
The Survey Method
The Naturalistic-Observation Method
The Ethnographic-Observation Method
The Participant-Observation Method
The Laboratory-Observation Method / Learning Objectives 2.4–2.8
Lecture Launchers 2.2–2.3
Student Activity 2.1
Correlation, p. 48 / Learning Objective 2.9
The Experimental Method,
p. 49
Experimental and Control Groups / Learning Objectives 2.10–2.11
Student Activity 2.2
Ethics in Sex Research, p. 50 / Learning Objectives 2.12
Student Activity 2.3

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Detailed Chapter Outline

A Scientific Approach to Human Sexuality

  • Researchers who study human sexuality take an empirical approach; that is, they base their knowledge on evidence.
  • The Scientific Method is a systematic way of gathering scientific evidence and testing assumptions through research.It has a number of elements:
  • Formulating a research question.
  • Generating a hypothesis, a precise prediction about behavior that is often derived from theory.
  • Testing the hypothesis through carefully controlled observation and experimentation.
  • Drawing conclusions about the accuracy of the hypotheses based on the results of the studies.
  • Goals of the Science of Human Sexuality are to describe, explain, predict, and control the events of interest.
  • Scientists must be clear, unbiased, and precise in their descriptions.
  • They must also be careful to separate description from inference, a conclusion or opinion.
  • Researchers try to relate variables, such as biological, psychological, or sociological conditions, to explain their observations
  • Theories provide frameworks within which scientists can explain what they observe and make predictions.
  • One test of the soundness of a theory is whether it allows us to predict behavior.

Populations and Samples:Representing the World of Diversity

Lecture Launcher 2.1

  • Researchers study particular populations of interest, such as American adults or African American adolescents.As it would be nearly impossible to study all individuals within a population, individuals are selected from within these populations to study.The individuals who participate in research compose the sample group. The best sample groups are representative of the population.
  • Sampling Methods
  • Random samples
  • While a larger sample is generally more accurate than a smaller sample, a large sample size does not necessarily mean that the sample is representative of the target population.
  • Representative samples can be obtained through random sampling, wherein every member of the target population has an equal chance of participating.
  • In stratifiedrandom samples, known subgroups of a population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the population.
  • Random samples can be difficult to achieve in sexual research, as people willing to volunteer for these studies may have different attitudes regarding sexuality than the general population.This phenomenon is called volunteer bias.
  • Convenience samples are composed of individuals who are available to the researcher and who share some characteristics with the target population.Convenience samples often consist of European American, middle class college students who volunteer for studies conducted at their schools.

Methods of Observation

Lecture Launchers 2.2–2.3

Student Activity 2.1

  • Once the population group has been chosen, scientists may observe their subjects by a number of different methods.
  • The Case Study Method of observation is a carefully drawn, in-depth biography of an individual or a small group.The interplay of various background factors is considered.
  • The case study method is often used to report the results of a particular treatment.
  • Information may come from long-term interviews, interviews with individuals who have known the subject(s), and public records.
  • Case studies are not as rigorous a research design as is an experiment.
  • The Survey Method of observation typically gathers information about behavior through questionnaires or interviews.
  • Types of surveys
  • Interviews have the advantage of face-to-face contact and the chance for follow-up questions.
  • Questionnaires are anonymous and less expensive than interviews.
  • No survey of sexuality represents the American population at large, mostly due to volunteer bias and the veracity of answers given.
  • Specific survey methods
  • The Kinsey Reports:Between 1938 and 1949, Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues conducted face-to-face interviews with 5,300 males and 5,940 females in the United States.
  • They questioned subjects regarding various sexual experiences.
  • Kinsey’s population sample was not random.People of color, people in rural areas, older people, the poor, and Catholics and Jews were all underrepresented in his samples.
  • To ensure that his questions were answered honestly, Kinsey assured his subjects that all records were confidential.Interviewers were trained to conduct the interviews in a non-judgmental manner.
  • To check the reliability of his data, Kinsey reexamined hundreds of interviewees after 18 months or more had passed.While the reported incidence of sexual activities remained consistent, reports of the frequency of sexual activities were less so.
  • The NHSLS study:In the 1990s the National Health and Social Life Survey was published; 3,432 people, ages 18—59 were interviewed.
  • The authors of this survey tried to more accurately represent the U.S. population than other surveys.
  • Researchers obtained an almost 80% completion rate for this survey.
  • The Playboy Foundation commissioned a survey of sexual practices in the 1970s.The sample group of 2,026 individuals was drawn randomly from phone book listings in 24 American cities.
  • Eighty percent of those contacted refused to participate in the small-group discussions that focused on sexual trends in the United States.As the 20% who did participate were more open about sexual issues, it is logical to assume that volunteer bias colors this survey.Also, certain groups, such as rural people and prison inmates, were underrepresented.
  • Magazine surveys have been conducted by a number of popular magazines.While large samples may be attained, sampling techniques are often unscientific and biased.Results are drawn only from the responses obtained by those readers of the particular magazine willing to complete the survey.
  • Results of two specific surveys
  • The National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults (2003) conducted telephone interviews with 1,854 randomly chosen people between the ages of 13 and 24.Previously underrepresented groups such as African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans were purposely over sampled.Some of the major findings were:
  • About one out of three adolescents reported having been pressured to have sex.
  • About one out of three adolescents has engaged in oral sex.
  • Many adolescents reported doing more than they had planned to do under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Many adolescents do not know the details about transmission and problems associated with STIs, although more than three out of four say they would like to have more information about STIs.
  • In 2003, theElle/MSNBC.com Sex and Body Image Survey got responses from nearly 60,000 people, mostly made up of readers of Elle magazine.Rather than being random, this sample represents generally fashion-conscious young adults with Internet capability.
  • Many of the findings from this survey differ from other, more representative samples, especially in terms of body image.
  • Recently, studies have been conducted to ascertain information about specific populations, such as gay men and lesbians or people from a particular ethnic group.

  • Limitations of the survey method include the following:
  • Surveys are self-reports of respondents’ behaviors, subject to inaccuracies or biases.
  • Data may be drawn from non-representative samples that do not represent the target population.
  • Participants in surveys may try to give what they believe to be socially desirable answers.
  • Volunteers for sexual research studies tend to be more sexually permissive and liberal-minded than non-volunteers.
  • The Naturalistic-Observation Method, or field study, involves the direct observation of behavior where it occurs.Scientists conducting this sort of study take precautions to keep their observations unobtrusive and try not to influence the behavior of the individuals being studied.
  • The Ethnographic-Observation Method provides us with data concerning sexual behaviors and customs that occur among various ethnic groups.Anthropologists, who try not to alter the behavior of group members by their presence and attention, typically conduct this type of research.
  • Inthe Participant-Observation Method of study, investigators learn about people’s behavior by directly interacting with them.In some cases, researchers have engaged in coitus with participants to fully engage in the study.They had to.Really.It was their job.
  • The Laboratory-Observation Method brings individuals into a laboratory, where their behavior can be observed and monitored.
  • Masters and Johnson performed a large-scale study of individuals involved in various sexual activities.Their research offered the first reliable set of data on what happens to the body during sexual response.
  • A confounding factor in these types of studies is the fact that these subjects are aware that they are being observed, which might affect their behavior.Similarly, in considering their findings, the effects of volunteer bias must be taken into account.
  • Physiological measures of sexual arousal
  • In self-reports of sexual arousal, subjects give their impressions of the level of their sexual arousal at a given time.This type of response is subjective.
  • Physiological measures, which measure the degree of vasocongestion that builds up in the genitals during sexual arousal, have the advantage of giving an objective measurement of the body’s response.
  • In men, vasocongestion is measured by a penile strain gauge, which measures the erectile response of the penis.
  • In women, sexual response is measured by a vaginal photoplethysmograph, a probe which measures vasocongestion in the vaginal walls.

Correlation

  • In correlational studies, the relationship between variables is measured.
  • A correlation is a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables.
  • Correlations may be positive or negative.Two variables are positively correlated if one increases as the other increases.Variables are negatively correlated if one decreases as the other increases.
  • While two variables may be correlated, it is important not to confuse correlation and causality.For instance, there is a correlation between the use of Viagra and risky sexual behavior among gay men.This does not mean that Viagra causes risky sexual behavior. However, correlations can be used to make predictions.

The Experimental Method

Student Activity 2.2

  • Researchers conducting experiments directly control or manipulate the factors of interest and carefully observe their effects.The experimental method is the best method for studying cause-and-effect relationships.
  • Aspects of the Experimental Method

As an example, consider that a researcher wants to determine whether or not alcohol stimulates sexual arousal.

  • The variable that is presumed to cause an effect is called the independent variable.In this case, alcohol is the independent variable.
  • The presumed effect is the dependent variable.When you change the independent variable, you observe the effect (if any) on the dependent variable.In our example, the dependent variable is the sexual arousal of the subject.
  • Experimental and Control Groups
  • Well-designed experiments randomly assign subjects to experimental and control groups.
  • Participants in experimental groups receive the treatment; participants in control groups do not.
  • All other conditions should be identical for both groups.
  • While the experimental method provides the strongest evidence of cause-and-effect relationships, scientists are limited in the variables they may manipulate.They may be limited by the ethical conditions of the study.

Ethics in Sex Research

Student Activity 2.3

  • Sex researchers are required to protect the people being studied.Ethics review committees evaluate research proposals before they are performed.The following are some ethical issues that are considered before sexual research projects are approved.
  • Studies may not expose participants to harm.
  • Confidentiality of the identities and responses of participants must be maintained.
  • Subjects must freely agree to participate in the study after being given enough information about the procedures and purposes of the research.This is called “informed consent.”
  • The use of deception: Some studies require that participants not know all about the purposes and methods of an experiment.

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Learning Objectives
  1. Explain the four essential elements of the classic scientific method of research.
  1. List the four broad goals of the science of human sexuality.
  1. Describe the sampling methods used to choose research subjects.Identify the advantages and disadvantages associated with these methods.
  1. Describe the case study method and its advantages and limitations.
  1. Critique the sampling techniques used in several large-scale surveys discussed in this chapter.
  1. Identify and explain advantages and problems associated with using the survey method, providing examples for each.
  1. Distinguish the four observational methods and suggest research questions each might be used to answer.
  1. Identify the principle weaknesses of the various observational methods.
  1. Compare and contrast the correlational and experimental methods of data analysis. Explain why correlations cannot indicate a cause-and-effect relationship.
  1. Discuss the experimental method in terms of the variables involved and the assignment of subjects to groups.
  1. Cite the limitations of the experimental method and give examples of situations in which it could not be used.
  1. Discuss the major ethical issues researchers encounter when conducting sex research and how they are resolved.

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Chapter Overview

Chapter 2 starts by stating the need for an empirical approach to the study of human sexuality.This systematic way of gathering evidence is provided by the scientific method.The different steps in the method are then described: formulating a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing conclusions.The goals of science—description, explanation, prediction and control—are then presented as they apply to the study of human sexual behavior.The authors caution not to confuse description with inference and then introduce the concepts of variables, correlation, and theories.Ethical issues are discussed in light of the concept of control.

The use of operational definitions are essential to the scientific method and are relevant in our ability to compare and generalize from one study to another.The different definitions of sexual arousal are used to illustrate the point.

Because of the impracticality of studying all the members of a population of interest (a target population), researchers try to select a representative sample.Probability sampling(random and stratified random) and convenience samples are the methods most frequently used. The issue of volunteer bias is discussed.

Different observation methods, their advantages and limitations are described.The case-study method, an in-depth observation of individuals or small groups, is frequently used in the report of innovative treatment approaches.Survey methods employ interviews or questionnaires to gather data.The most relevant surveys on sex research are introduced to discuss issues of sampling. The section ends with a discussion on the limitations of survey methods.Naturalistic observations (field studies) are described and their ethical implications are pointed out.The ethnographic approach is limited because of the usually private nature of sexual behavior.The participant-observation method requires a direct interaction between the researchers and the participants of the study; a controversial study on “spouse swapping” was conducted using this method.The laboratory-observation method is illustrated in reference to the work of Masters and Johnson, who observe participants as they engage in different sexual activities.

A correlation describes the association between variables. Although useful in predicting behavior, correlations do not provide proof of causal relationships.This can be achieved only through the experimental approach.The different aspects of the experimental method (independent and dependent variables, experimental and control groups, and random assignment) and its limitations (artificiality and practical and ethical concerns) are presented.

The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical issues in research.Benefits exceeding harm, confidentiality, informed concern, and the use of deception are discussed.

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Key Terms

Anthropomorphism The attributing of human characteristics to an animal.

Case study A carefully drawn, in-depth biography of an individual or a small group ofindividuals that may be obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and historical records.

Control group A group of study participants who do not receive the experimental treatment. However, other conditions are held comparable to those of individuals in the experimental group.

Correlation A statistical measure of the relationship between two variables.

Correlation coefficientA statistic that expresses the strength and direction (positive or negative) of the relationship between two variables.

Dependent variable The measured result of an experiment, which is believed to be a function of the independent variable.

Ethnographic observation A method of research that deals descriptively with specific cultures, especially preliterate societies.

Experiment A scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables.