Lesbian and bisexual women of diverse ages, ethnicity, and educational attainment for research projects

E. Rothblum, R. Factor, D. Aaron

Lesbians and bisexual women are often recruited for research via convenience sampling, but there has been little focus on the sources through which these women are recruited. This article focuses on two research projects that successfully recruited large samples of lesbian and bisexual women. The first, on lesbians and their bisexual and heterosexual sisters, contacted all lesbian periodicals, religious organizations, bars, bookstores, campus groups, and ethnic/multicultural groups listed in the Gayellow Pages. Different fictional P.O. box numbers appeared in the return address in each case, allowing us to see exactly where lesbians and bisexual women (and also older women and women of color) heard about the study. The second study, on health status of sexual minority women living in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, formed a community advisory board to reach all segments of the community. Questionnaires were sent to individuals on lesbian/gay mailing lists and social organizations; the research team also attended lesbian events and used a snowball distribution method. The results show the relative response rate of women reached through mailing lists, organizations, events, and networks, respectively. The results ofboth studies indicate that multiple sources of recruitment are ideal in order to reach a diverse sample of lesbian and bisexual women.