Newsgroups: cmu.cs.discussion
From: corwin+@CMU.EDU (Scott Safier)
Subject: Number games
Originator: scotts@ISL1.RI.CMU.EDU
Nntp-Posting-Host: isl1.ri.cmu.edu
Organization: Carnegie Mellon University
Distribution: cmu
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 22:15:02 -0500

Not that any of this matters, but here are some surveys on sexual
orientation/behavior, and some of their strengths and weaknesses.
I also appended some common problems with these types of surveys.

Kinsey, 1948 (10% gay) 
strengths: devoted to sexual behavior; interviewers trained for a year
weaknesses: sample of white males only, mostly from mid-west and
colleges

Kinsey Institute/NORC, 1970 (6.7% gay)
strengths: sample fairly reliable
weaknesses: key sexual question ("sexual experience with sexual
climax") omits wide range of sexual experience; interviewers not
trained to do sexual studies

NORC/GSS, 1990 (4.8% gay)
strengths: sample fairly reliable
weaknesses: survey not about sex but about socio-political attitutdes;
interviewers not trained to do sexual studies

Battelle Human Affairs Institute Research Centers (1.1% gay)
weaknesses: study about behavior related to AIDS, not homosexuality;
30% non-response rate; interviewers exclusively female, not trained to
do sexual studies

Some common problems with surveys on sexual behavior
- People tend to lie about stigmatized and highly sensitive subjects.
For example, in 24 states with sodomy laws, answering yes to questions
about same-sex intimacy means admitting to criminal behavior.

- It is impossible to verify the accuracy of the respondents' answers.
"We can't observe how people actually act in matters of sexuality."
Stuart Michaels, U. of Chicago sociologist

- Response is influenced by who is asking the question.  For example,
in some studies, gay men refused to answer sexual questions when the
interviewer was a woman,as was the case in the Battlle study.

- How questions are worded can have a major impact.  For many, sex
refers only to anal or vaginal penetration.  By this definition,
someone who is engaged in mutual masturbation or fellatio or who
received oral sex may not be lying when he/she says he/she has not had
sex with someone of the same sex.

[source: Ralph Bolton, PhD and Peter M. Nardi, PhD in 6/1/93 Advocate]