Chapter 3 discusses the major methods that have been used in sex research, as well as the problems and merits associated with each method. This knowledge is necessary for understanding and evaluating sex research. In this chapter the authors:
Discuss sampling and the reliability of self-reports of sexual behavior versus the method of direct observations.
Discuss ethical issues, such as informed consent.
Discuss the major sex surveys of the twentieth century, including The Kinsey Report; the NHSLS; a sex survey of African American and Latino youth in Detroit; Bell, Weinberg, and Hammersmith's study of homosexuals and heterosexuals; and Project SIGMA, a study of gay men's sexual behavior in the AIDS era.
Discuss participant-observer studies, in which the scientist either becomes a part of the community to be studied, or makes observations from inside the community.
Discuss experiments, in which one factor must be manipulated while all other factors are held constant.
