I have a question from a student – he is requesting “information on how the specific question was selected/developed/tested/validated for the survey.” I think he is interested to see what processes, if any, in developing these types of survey questions.
Appreciate any information you might be able to acquire.
This is the Statistics Canada measure that we talked about:
SDC_Q7B
SDC_7AA
Do you consider yourself to be:
1 ... heterosexual? (sexual relations with people of the opposite sex)
2 ... homosexual, that is lesbian or gay? (sexual relations with people of your own sex)
3 ... bisexual? (sexual relations with people of both sexes) DK, RF
From: Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Annual Component - 2014 Questionnaire http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/instrument/3226_Q1_V11-eng.pdf
Answer
Please see below for response from subject matter,
The origin of the SDC module questions are from the National Population Health Survey. All questions in the Canadian Community Health Survey are qualitatively tested prior to being asked of Canadians. The most recent qualitative testing of these SDC questions for the CCHS were from February to March 2014. During the qualitative testing session all questions of this module, including the sexual orientation question, were answered without any additional questions or reservations on part of the respondents.
Question SDC_7AA on self-identified sexual orientation has been part of the CCHS since Cycle 2.1, and apart from age requirements has remained the same since its introduction into the survey.
Some relevant information on asking similar questions in social surveys can be found from the following academic sources:
Michaels, S. and Lhomond B. 2006. Conceptualization and measurement of homosexuality in sex surveys: a critical review. Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, 22(7): 1365-1374.
Smith et al. 2003. Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 27(2): 138-145.
