12.1: A Practical Guide for LGBTQ+ Studies - Overview

Introduction

With a simple search, people can now access a wealth of online information about LGBTQ+ topics, especially if they are English speakers. And yet searching for information online, figuring out what to ask, and choosing how to word questions can still be frustrating. When conducting research on an LGBTQ+ topic, people will have to use different search strategies and critical thinking skills to locate resources appropriate for academic purposes. We wrote this chapter to help people search for LGBTQ+ information and resources in an effective, mindful manner.

Ethical Considerations for LGBTQ+ Research

When preparing to do research, it is important to learn about the community (or communities) that you have chosen to study. Awareness of LGBTQ+ terminology, identity development, and the living conditions of LGBTQ+ people will provide necessary context. Before you locate and evaluate LGBTQ+ information sources, consider the following points:

• Many communities, one initialism: Remember that the LGBTQ+ initialism encompasses many diverse individuals and experiences. In fact, there are multiple formulations of it (e.g., LGBTQIA, QUILTBAG), and letters sometimes serve more than one function (e.g., “Q” for queer or questioning). In this chapter, we use “LGBTQ+” to refer to a large spectrum of identities. When speaking about a particular population, however, more specific terms (e.g., gay, lesbian) may be more appropriate to use than an inclusive initialism because of the differences in experience among groups. Remember also that an individual might identify in multiple ways (e.g., a bisexual transgender person).
• Intersectional identities: The concept of intersectionality (a theory of Kimberlé Crenshaw) focuses on how interlocking systems of oppression affect marginalized individuals.^[1] Remember to consider how other aspects of an individual’s identity (race, ethnicity, class, country of origin, religion, disability status, etc.) interact with their LGBTQ+ identity. Avoid treating the different aspects of a person’s identity separately, and instead engage in a holistic examination of the systems of privilege and marginalization that act on them.
• Pronouns and binaries: Be careful not to make assumptions about the individuals that you study. Use caution when applying modern labels to a historical subject. If an individual refers to themselves using particular pronouns, use those pronouns—if they use zir, do not substitute their, for example. Be wary of binaries. Do not erase bisexuality or pansexuality by insisting on a gay-straight binary. Do not erase intersex or nonbinary individuals by insisting on a male-female binary. Be mindful of emergent terminology, the explicit identification of LGBTQ+ individuals, and the various experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.

Careful consideration of these topics will help you in later stages of your research as you begin to develop your question, form a search strategy, and synthesize the information that you find into a paper, presentation, or other form of scholarship.

Getting Ready for Research

Constructing Research Questions and Generating Keywords

To begin, write down the research questions that you have about your topic. Writing research questions also helps you generate keywords for searching. When constructing research questions, pay attention to the following:

Yes or No Questions

Often, the first attempt to write down a research question results in a yes or no question, like this:

Can lesbians become parents?

The keywords in this question are “lesbians” and “parents,” which could potentially retrieve a broad range of information resources about lesbian parents, or lesbians and how they raise children, or parents of lesbian children. The fact that resources existing about lesbian parents implies a positive response to this question, so the question answers itself. Here are some questions that you would need to answer with evidence from research, however:

How do lesbians become parents?

How do lesbians parent their children?

What laws affect the ability of lesbians to have children or become parents?

Appropriate Use of LGBTQ+ Terminology

In LGBTQ+ research, language is everything. Whether searching for information about a historical or current topic, familiarize yourself with the terminology used for (or by) LGBTQ+ people in that time, culture, and place, in addition to current LGBTQ+ terminology. This will help you locate resources and artifacts from that time period, perhaps produced by that culture, as well as resources written by modern researchers. There is also LGBTQ+ terminology that is out of date or that is now considered clinical language used by medical researchers or biologists to describe nonhuman animals and their behavior. Review the chapters and their “Research Resources” sections in this book for the most up-to-date LGBTQ+ terminology used in different disciplines.

Value-Laden or Comparative Language

It may seem intuitive to include terms like good, bad, positive, negative, problem, challenge, and so on in research questions. Here is an example:

Are there negative impacts of lesbian parenting on children?

Including “negative” in our keyword search will lead to biased results that keep us from retrieving information that will allow us to interpret the range of complexities on a topic for ourselves. To remove this bias, you can revise the question to read more neutrally:

What is the impact of lesbian parenting on children?

Questions That Are Too Specific or Too Broad

Scale your topic to the size of the project that you are undertaking. A research paper of ten pages or fewer, for example, should cover a narrow, focused topic. It sounds tricky to scope your question so that it’s broad enough to be included in multiple resources but narrow enough not to be overwhelming, but you will be able to do it with some planning and initial research.

Let’s start with a broad topic and try to narrow it appropriately:

What support systems exist for LGBT* people?

“LGBT*” (the asterisk is used for truncation searches^[2]) is an abbreviation applying to many diverse individuals, each with their own experience. The phrase “support systems” is also vague. It might refer to personal support systems, governmental programs, nonprofit or community organizations, or online resources and communities. Entire handbooks and encyclopedias are needed to answer such a broad question. For a smaller project, narrow the question to focus on a particular population, location, or type of service.

It is also possible to narrow down the topic too much:

What community organizations exist to support lesbian Somali refugee youth in Minnesota?

Although this is an excellent question, there may not be enough information about this specific population in this specific location. It is worth a try, but may retrieve too few search results (or none at all). You might have to broaden the search terms to retrieve results that may answer the question or remove some search terms, like so:

What organizations exist to support lesbian Somali refugee youth?

Removing the location-specific aspect may help the researcher locate more general information that would still apply to the population of interest in Minnesota. Removing “community” but including “organizations” might also generalize your search and reduce the number of results about specific community organizations outside your area of interest. If this search still retrieved too few results, you might alter it to be slightly broader:

What organizations exist to support lesbian Somali youth?

Removing “refugee” as a keyword in this search increases the possibility of locating information about Somali youth and their coming out process in general, which has the potential to include the coming out process for Somali refugee youth, immigrant youth, or Somali youth who were born in the country where they currently reside.

After doing some research, you may need to revisit the scope of your topic because it is still too broad or too narrow. Don’t be discouraged—this is part of the research process!

Information Availability

When you have your keywords test them out by deciding where you want to search. Researching a historical event will likely involve sources such as books, journal articles, or primary sources from online or physical archives. Writing about a current event, however, may require locating recent developments in the news or social media in addition to materials that inform the historical context. Thinking about the types of sources that you expect to find and consult will help you decide whether you need to search in a database, a library catalog, a search engine, or all these sources.

It is also important to consider what sources might not be available. You might not be able to find explicitly LGBTQ+ sources created in a repressive context. LGBTQ+ people in seventeenth-century English colonies with strict sodomy law enforcement and witch trials probably did not write openly about themselves, if they could write at all. People would not have used the terminology that we might use today to describe their sexual orientation or gender identity. Secondary sources such as books and articles present information about the lives of LGBTQ+ people in such contexts based on the authors’ research using primary documents. Sometimes these sources can guide you to the primary documents, which you might be able to consult for yourself. See the later section “From the Archives: Historical LGBTQ+ Primary Source Material” for more information about archival sources.

Once you’ve thought about what kind of information you expect to find, start using the keywords that you generated when creating your research question. For tips on translating research questions into language that databases can understand, consult Walden University Library’s guide on keyword searching and connecting keywords.^[3]

Tip - Safety First: Online Privacy

Not all people enjoy the same level of freedom or privacy in online searching. Public computer terminals may have internet filters on them to prevent people from searching for LGBTQ+ content. Corporations may collect personal data from researchers in the attempt to sell products or promote content. If someone lives in a country where LGBTQ+ identities are criminalized, online research on LGBTQ+ topics may put them at risk, even if they use their own mobile device. Active U.S. military may also have their online activities monitored. In cases such as these, where concerns about surveillance and privacy exist, it is important to take precautions before searching for LGBTQ+ information or connecting with LGBTQ+ communities online. Review “Online Privacy: Using the Internet Safely,” a guide from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, before doing online research to preserve your privacy and security (privacyrights.org/consumer-guides/online-privacy-using-internet-safely).

Check Your Knowledge

Contributed by Has Arakelyan, Rio Hondo College

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Which of the following best describes the concept of intersectionality as it applies to LGBTQ+ research?
A) Focusing only on sexual orientation

B) Using only current LGBTQ+ terminology

C) Considering how multiple aspects of identity (e.g., race, class, gender) interact to shape experiences

D) Treating each identity aspect separately


2. Why is it important to avoid value-laden language (e.g., “good,” “bad,” “problem”) in research questions?
A) It can bias search results and limit the complexity of findings
.
B) It makes research questions too broad
.
C) It is required by all academic journals.
D) It helps to focus only on positive outcomes.

3. When conducting LGBTQ+ research, why should researchers be cautious about applying modern labels to historical subjects?
A) It is always preferable to use clinical language
.
B) Modern labels may not accurately reflect historical identities or contexts
.
C) Historical subjects preferred modern terminology

D) It increases the number of search results.

4. What is a potential risk for individuals searching for LGBTQ+ information online in certain countries?
A) Receiving too many advertisements

B) Being required to use outdated terminology
C) Having to use only public computers

D) Facing legal consequences or surveillance


5. Which of the following is a recommended strategy for narrowing a research question that is too broad?
A) Focus on a specific population, location, or type of service

B) Add more value-laden terms

C) Use only yes/no questions

D) Remove all keywords


1. How does the concept of intersectionality change the way we approach research on LGBTQ+ topics?
2. What are the potential consequences of using outdated or inappropriate terminology in LGBTQ+ research?
3. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of researchers when studying marginalized communities, especially in contexts where privacy and safety are concerns.
4. How can researchers balance the need for specificity in their questions with the risk of retrieving too few sources?
5. In what ways does the availability (or lack) of primary sources affect our understanding of LGBTQ+ histories and experiences?

Multiple-Choice Questions - Answers

1. C) Considering how multiple aspects of identity (e.g., race, class, gender) interact to shape experiences
2. A) It can bias search results and limit the complexity of findings
.
3. B) Modern labels may not accurately reflect historical identities or contexts
.
4. D) Facing legal consequences or surveillance

5. A) Focus on a specific population, location, or type of service