Contribute To The Science Of Sex By Participating In A Sex Study
Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 6:00AM 
If you’re anything like me, you probably think there’s nothing more fun or interesting than learning about the latest sex research. But have you ever wanted to go beyond just reading about it and actually contribute to sexual science by participating in a sex study or two (or three or four)? If so, today is your lucky day. Below are links to a series of sexuality studies that are either run by me or some of my esteemed research collaborators. Each study addresses a distinct aspect of sex and you are eligible to participate in as many or as few of the studies as you would like, depending upon whether you meet the selection criteria. Any help you can provide by participating or spreading the word is greatly appreciated and will help to advance our understanding of human sexuality.
- Attitudes Toward Sexual Relationships – You must currently have at least one “friend with benefits” and/or be involved in some type of romantic relationship in order to participate. You will be asked a series of questions about your relationship(s) and sexual attitudes.
- Survey of Men’s Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors – This survey is open to men who have sex with other men, regardless of their sexual identity and relationship status. You will be asked questions about your sexual history and current sexual practices.
- Consensual Nonmonogamy – This study is open to persons involved in any type of consensual, nonexclusive intimate relationship(s). You will be asked questions about your relationship beliefs, practices, and desires.
If you aren’t eligible to participate in any of these studies, don’t despair—more links will be posted soon. In the meantime, feel free to participate in The Psychology of Human Sexuality’s Reader Survey.
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Reader Comments (3)
Is there any concern about introducing selection bias into these studies by advertising them on a sexuality-related, internet-based forum? Without seeing the methods section regarding data collection, I can't speak to the targeted sample population, but I would be concerned, as a researcher, that there may be something fundamentally different about the attitudes of people people who choose to read sex-related blogs, and that may skew the data.
Thanks for your comment. You are absolutely right that if this were the only place I was recruiting participants, there would be a potential selection bias because people who visit sexuality-related websites may have different sexual attitudes and practices than the rest of the population. However this is not the only place I am advertising the study. I have also posted announcements on general (i.e., non-sexuality specific) websites and message boards in an attempt to balance things out. Does that fully address the selection issue? No, but that’s unavoidable in this kind of research. Any time we do research without random sampling, we end up with some degree of bias in our samples (e.g., were I to collect my data with college students at my own university instead, there would be a whole other selection bias in terms of age, education level, sexual experience, etc.). Unfortunately, grant funding for sexuality research is scarce, which means random selection is quite rare and we just have to do the best we can when it comes to getting participants. But even with selection issues, the data can still be very meaningful and useful to the extent that researchers carefully describe the nature and limitations of their samples in their published work and avoid making inappropriate generalizations.
The polyamory/polyandry survey seemes odd, as it doesn't question people (like myself) who are part of a poly relationship but not the one with multiple partners. (Eg. I myself do not have another partner, but my partner has me and another.)