<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>As part of a large sexual health study, we used two different approaches to target Sexual Minority Individuals (SMIs). Firstly, we drew on a probability sample (1,832 respondents aged 14-80) of the Flemish population in Belgium. Secondly, we set up a targeted sampling design followed by an Internet survey. Our focus was to explore how two different sampling procedures and survey designs could lead to differences in sample characteristics. Results showed that for female SMIs (we excluded male SMIs from the analyses due to their low numbers) the population sample differed from the Internet sample in terms of sociodemographic characteristics (the latter included younger and more highly educated respondents) and scores on sexual orientation dimensions (the population sample included more respondents who didn’t identify as lesbian or bisexual but reported same-sex sexual experiences and desire). Respondents’ scores on sexual health indicators differed between the samples for two of the seven variables. We discuss implications for improving the quality and validity of nonrandom samples.</p></abstract>

As part of a large sexual health study, we used two different approaches to target Sexual Minority Individuals (SMIs). Firstly, we drew on a probability sample (1,832 respondents aged 14-80) of the Flemish population in Belgium. Secondly, we set up a targeted sampling design followed by an Internet survey. Our focus was to explore how two different sampling procedures and survey designs could lead to differences in sample characteristics. Results showed that for female SMIs (we excluded male SMIs from the analyses due to their low numbers) the population sample differed from the Internet sample in terms of sociodemographic characteristics (the latter included younger and more highly educated respondents) and scores on sexual orientation dimensions (the population sample included more respondents who didn’t identify as lesbian or bisexual but reported same-sex sexual experiences and desire). Respondents’ scores on sexual health indicators differed between the samples for two of the seven variables. We discuss implications for improving the quality and validity of nonrandom samples.

Comparing Survey and Sampling Methods for Reaching Sexual Minority Individuals in Flanders

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium

Department of Sociology, Research team CuDOS, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.

Journal of Official Statistics

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

As part of a large sexual health study, we used two different approaches to target Sexual Minority Individuals (SMIs). Firstly, we drew on a probability sample...

Comparing Survey and Sampling Methods for Reaching Sexual Minority Individuals in Flanders

Published Online: May 08, 2014

Page range: 251 - 1

Received: Feb 01, 2013

Accepted: Mar 01, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2014-0016

Keywords
Hard-to-reach populations, self-selection bias, nonrandom samples

© by Alexis Dewaele

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Comparing Survey and Sampling Methods for Reaching Sexual Minority Individuals in Flanders

Published Online: May 08, 2014

Page range: 251 - 1

Received: Feb 01, 2013

Accepted: Mar 01, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jos-2014-0016

KeywordsHard-to-reach populations, self-selection bias, nonrandom samples

© by Alexis Dewaele

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
Hard-to-reach populations, self-selection bias, nonrandom samples