Ethical and Responsible Practices for Research Participant Demographic Information

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Individuals who are recruited to participate in research studies are often asked to disclose information about their race. Some research participants, including those who do not identify with a standard reporting category, may think that their identity is not accurately captured by demographic questions. This project will develop strategies for collecting and reporting information about the race of research participants. Project findings will provide guidance to researchers so that they can ask questions in ways that are more respectful of research participants and more likely to produce accurate and reliable information about racial identity. The overarching aim of the project is to promote ethical and responsible research practices for collecting and reporting information about the racial identity of research participants. The research team plans to collect and analyze participants’ racial identity in their own words and understand their experiences of answering typical demographics questions about race. The team will draw on this information to develop and test alternative ways of asking participants about their race and for reporting that information. The team will use an on-line data collection platform with a nationally representative participant pool, as well as conduct interviews and focus groups. Guidelines for collecting and reporting participants’ racial identity, as well as strategies for disseminating the guidelines, will emerge from the project. The team also plans to collect feedback from researchers, survey professionals and other stakeholders, and refine the guidelines, which will be tailored for adoption by each group. This project is funded through the ER2 program by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.