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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
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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS IN HUMAN SEXUALITY
Chapter-at-a-Glance
Chapter 2
Outline
Instructor’s
Resources
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
< Return to Chapter-at-a-Glance
< Return to Contents
40
Professor
Notes
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.
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
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 stratified random 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.
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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.
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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.
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
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.
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
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, the Elle/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.
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
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.

In the 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.
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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.
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
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.
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
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-andeffect 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.
2.
List the four broad goals of the science of human sexuality.
3.
Describe the sampling methods used to choose research subjects. Identify the
advantages and disadvantages associated with these methods.
4.
Describe the case study method and its advantages and limitations.
5.
Critique the sampling techniques used in several large-scale surveys discussed in
this chapter.
6.
Identify and explain advantages and problems associated with using the survey
method, providing examples for each.
7.
Distinguish the four observational methods and suggest research questions each
might be used to answer.
8.
Identify the principle weaknesses of the various observational methods.
9.
Compare and contrast the correlational and experimental methods of data analysis.
Explain why correlations cannot indicate a cause-and-effect relationship.
10. Discuss the experimental method in terms of the variables involved and the
assignment of subjects to groups.
11. Cite the limitations of the experimental method and give examples of situations in
which it could not be used.
12. 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
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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 of
individuals 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 coefficient A 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.
Experimental group A group of study participants who receive a treatment.
Independent variable A condition in a scientific study that is manipulated so that its
effects may be observed.
Inference Conclusion or opinion.
Laboratory observation A method in which subjects are studied in a laboratory setting.
Myotonia Muscle tension.
Participant observation A method in which observers interact with the people they
study as they collect data.
Population A complete group of organisms or events.
Random Sample A sample in which every member of a population has an equal chance
of participating.
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Sample Part of a population.
Selection factor A bias that may operate in research when people are allowed to
determine whether or not they will receive a treatment.
Treatment In experiments, an intervention that is administered to participants (e.g., a
test, a drug, or sex-education program) so that its effects may be observed.
Vasocongestion Congestion from the flow of blood. (From the Latin vas, meaning
“vessel.”)
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MyDevelopmentLab Video Series
The MyDevelopmentLab Video Series for Human Sexuality engages students and
brings course material to life through a wide range of videos, featuring over 125 carefully
selected clips. Drawn from a variety of sources including the Associated Press, ABC
News, and Science Central, this video series contains the most recent research, science,
and applications in human sexuality.
Study Finds Tears Are a Sexual Turnoff
This clip explains an experiment of men’s response to crying women and how crying
affects sexual response. The clip also shows interviews with random people and their
opinions about showing emotion/crying.
Please be advised: This clip may contain sensitive content.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
According to the clip, is it the saline in the tears that affects the sexual response?
Would it be safe to assume that instead of the tear affecting sexual response, it may be
related to how the individual male responds to emotion?
Could the sexual response of women be affected by the tears of men?
< Return to Video Series List
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Lecture Launchers
Lecture Launcher 2.1: Populations and Samples
Consider your classroom population.
 How closely does your classroom form a representative sample of the population of
the United States?
 In what ways does your classroom population conform to a stratified sample?
 If a survey of sexual attitudes were given to your class, how would these results
compare to a more representative sample?
 How closely does your college or university form a representative sample of the
population of the United States?
 Revisit the aforementioned questions with respect to the college or university.
Lecture Launcher 2.2: Discussion of Different Methods of Observation
Students are given a particular question about sexual behavior; for instance, the incidence
of homosexuality in the United States. Split the class into groups. Each group will discuss
how they would investigate the question by using one of the following observational
methods:
 Case studies
 Surveys
 Participant-observant method
 Laboratory-observation method
Each group is to present to the rest of the class the design of their study and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of each method of observation. In your discussion, remind
students to consider such aspects as veracity, volunteer bias, sample size or
representation, assumptions and definition of terms, control groups, observer effect, etc.
One problem with determining the veracity when interviewing subjects is that many
people tell researchers what they think he or she wants to hear. Have your students take
the Social Desirability Scale test on pages 62–63 of the text to measure their tendency to
change their responses to socially acceptable ones.
As an alternative, have students focus on the research of Katherine Frank. What are the
strengths and weaknesses to Katherine Frank’s method of studying strip clubs? What
biases might be operating in this research? How might her questions to participants be
different if she had a background in clinical psychology as opposed to anthropology?
Challenge students to design the same study using other methods of observation.
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Lecture Launcher 2.3: Analysis of Sexual Research
Compare and discuss the research method used by Sigmund Freud, Masters and Johnson,
Alfred Kinsey, and Margaret Mead. Analyze the pros and cons of each method of
investigation. For each researcher, redesign their research using another method of
observation. Discuss how this might have altered their results. What were their respective
views on human sexuality? What were their contributions to our understanding of
sexuality? How were their findings different from previous views on sex? How do they
compare to societal views on sex today?
In addition to or instead of this discussion, this activity can also be used to analyze the
work of more recent sex researchers. What are the pros and cons of the National Health
and Social Life Survey as well as the National Survey of Family Growth projects?
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Student Activities
Student Activity 2.1: Evaluating Scientific Claims
The activity provides hypothetical examples of research findings. Students are asked to
determine whether the conclusions appear justified and to identify the flaws that make the
results questionable or misleading.
Below you will find hypothetical examples of research findings. Based on the concepts of
research design discussed in this chapter, determine whether the conclusions appear
justified.
1.
A researcher conducts a survey of sexual behavior among students on your campus
by polling every third person that enters the library.
2.
A researcher observes that young men at a bar are more likely to approach young
women after they have had an alcoholic drink and concludes that alcohol increases
self-confidence in heterosexual interactions.
3.
A researcher finds that sexual activity among joggers is greater than among nonjoggers and concludes that jogging increases sexual drive and activity.
4.
A researcher finds that women report less frequent experience in masturbation
during childhood than do men and concludes that childhood masturbation occurs
only among boys.
5.
An investigator assigns subjects at random to either read sexually explicit passages
or view the same stories enacted in an explicit videotaped vignette. Finding
significantly greater sexual arousal in the videotaped vignette condition, the
investigator concludes that visual stimuli were more effective in evoking sexual
responses under these conditions.
6.
An animal behaviorist argues that non-human primates are naturally promiscuous
based on evidence that chimpanzees and other primates at the local zoo frequently
display promiscuous behavior.
7.
An investigator finds that men who committed rape were more likely to be exposed
to pornographic materials shortly before committing the crime than were men who
committed other violent crimes. The investigator concludes that exposure to
pornographic stimuli induces sexual violence.
8.
A therapist interviews the parents of a group of gay males in therapy and determines
that the parents’ personalities fit the profile predicted by the therapist’s theoretical
model of parents of gay males.
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After the students have tried to discover the problems in the situations presented, ask
them to use the following code to identify the major flaw or flaws that lead you to believe
the conclusions are questionable or even misleading.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Confuses correlation with causation.
Over generalizes.
Sample may not be representative of the population of interest.
Recollections of past events may not be accurate.
Experimenter bias may slant results.
Results may not generalize to natural conditions.
Subjects were not assigned randomly to groups, so differences may be due to subject
characteristics rather than the experimental (independent) variable.
H. Experimenter failed to control for subject expectancies.
I. No major flaw detected. Conclusion seems justified.
Nevid, J. S. (1992, February). Personal communication. Used with permission.
Student Activity 2.2: The Experimental Method
When you are discussing the experimental method, distribute copies of this activity
designing an experiment to students, either individually or in small groups. This activity
asks students to apply what they have learned about this research method to design an
experiment to test a new treatment for AIDS.
Directions: You are a medical researcher who has just “discovered” a new treatment for
AIDS. Now you need to design an experiment to test its effectiveness. Using the
following questions as guidelines, plan your experiment.
1.
What groups will you have in your study? How will you assign subjects to the
group(s)? What problems do you anticipate?
2.
What is your independent variable(s)? What is your dependent variable(s)?
3.
How will you assign your subjects to the experimental and control groups?
4.
What extraneous variables will you need to consider?
5.
What ethical issues will you need to consider?
Student Activity 2.3: Ethics in Sex Research/Limitations of Research Methods
When you have completed your discussion of all of the research methods, distribute
copies of this activity, Limitations of Research Methods, to students, either individually
or in small groups. This activity asks students to think of a research topic that would be
appropriate for each type of research, to identify the precautions researchers must take,
and to list the limitations of each research method.
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Directions: For each of the research methods listed in the chart on the following page,
think of a topic that would be appropriate for this method of research. Then, keeping this
topic in mind, identify the precautions researchers should take and the limitations of that
method.
Ethics in Sex Research/Limitations of Research Methods
Method and Topic
Precautions
Limitations
Case Study
Survey
Naturalistic
Observation
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Ethnographic
Observation
Participant
Observation
Laboratory
Observation
Correlations
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Experiment
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63
Web Resources
Annual Review of Sex Research
http://www.sexscience.org/resources/journal_of_sex_research/
Published by SSSS (Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality), the website outlines research
completed on human sexuality and related topics.
Journal of Sex Research
http://www.sexscience.org/publications/index.php?category_id=439
Site provides ordering information and prices on past volumes of this journal published by the
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
http://www.sexscience.org/
The oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality.
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64
Video/Media/Suggested Readings
Print Resources
Bullough, V. (1994). Science in the Bedroom: A History of Sex Research. New York:
Basic Books.
Caplan, P. J., & Caplan, J. B. (1994). Thinking Critically About Research on Sex and
Gender. New York: HarperCollins.
Durant, L. E. (2000). Self-administered questionnaires versus face-to-face interviews in
assessing sexual behavior in young women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29(4), 309–
323.
Goldman, J. D. (2000). Some methodological problems in estimating incidence and
prevalence in child sexual abuse research. The Journal of Sex Research, 37(4), 305–315.
Harding, R. & Peel, E. (2007). Surveying sexualities: Internet research with nonheterosexuals. Feminism & Psychology, 17(2), 277–285.
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual Behavior in the Human
Male. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co.
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B, Martin, C. E., & Gebhard, P. H. (1953). Sexual Behavior
in the Human Female. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co.
Laumann, E. O., Ellingson, S., Mahay, J., Paik, A., & Youm, Y. (2004). The Sexual
Organization of the City. Chicago, IL, US: University of Chicago Press.
Money, J. (1988). Commentary: Status of sex research. Journal of Psychology and
Human Sexuality, 1, 5–15.
Parker, R., & Gagnon, J. (1995). Conceiving Sexuality: Approaches to Sex Research in a
Postmodern World. New York: Routledge.
Seal, D. W. (2000). Dilemmas in conducting qualitative sex research in applied field
settings. Health Education and Behavior, 27(1), 10–24.
Society for the Scientific of Sex Statement of Ethical Guidelines. (1993). Journal of Sex
Research, 30(2), 192–198.
Wiederman, M. W. (1999). Volunteer bias in sexuality research using college student
participants. Journal of Sex Research, 36(1), 59–66.
Wiederman, M. W. (2001). Understanding Sexuality Research. Belmont, CA, US:
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
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Wiederman, M. W., & Whitley, B. E Jr. (Eds). (2002). Handbook for Conducting
Research on Human Sexuality. Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Publishers.
Video: My Development Lab Video Series
Research Methods in Sexuality: Michael Bailey’s Laboratory
Psychologist Michael Bailey talks about the difficulty in finding government funding for
sex research because the field is often controversial.
Sexist Bias in Research Methods: Florence Denmark
Psychologist Florence Denmark talks about the field of psychology in past decades,
noting that it was dominated by men—thus the research was conducted by men, mostly
using men as subjects, to determine the behavior of “people”—totally excluding the
female perspective.
Private Battles
This segment from Primetime 2006 shows a hidden-camera experiment in a park to see
who is brave enough to intervene in a physically abusive argument between a man and a
woman.
Gay Brain
This clip discusses research supporting that sexual preference is linked to neurons in the
hypothalamus; those skeptical of this evidence also are interviewed.
Aspirin and Sex Drive
In this clip, researchers talk about their findings that low-dose aspirin given to female rats
during pregnancy and breastfeeding changed the brain wiring in and subsequently
impaired the sexual behavior of their male offspring.
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