How do you indirectly measure gender in human research? The following is a guide for creating a composite gender score that corresponds to a method for creating a composite gender score after data collection when only sex assigned at birth has been measured.
- It presents a method for creating a gender composite score using already available data.
- It provides a stable score that is representative of people’s experience.
- This score identifies differences and patterns not identifiable using gender alone.
The scientific literature and the general considerations of equity, diversity and inclusion addressed in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Canada’s and Québec’s research funds are increasingly emphasizing the need to take sex and gender into account in research projects.
- Researcher or research professional
- Healthcare professional
- Social services professional
- Professor
- Student
- Family medicine clinic or family medicine group
This tool promotes the inclusion of sociocultural gender in health research, as well as other indicators such as sex assigned at birth and sexual orientation. This objective addresses two main challenges:
- The lack of consideration for gender in clinical practice, particularly due to a lack of relevant literature
- The lack of inclusion of gender in health research, which limits the scope of the results obtained
The tool allows for the measurement of these concepts in retrospective designs (using existing databases). Read the article A step-by-step and data-driven guide to index gender in psychiatry
Developed in partnership with people of gender diversity
These tools were developed in part in partnership with people of gender diversity during a summer internship. During the course of this internship, particular work was done to discuss the life experiences of people from diverse backgrounds as well as to develop a theoretical understanding of gender identity and its role in the lives of individuals. This was in order to include the views and perspectives directly affected by these considerations and to gain a deeper understanding of the individual experience of these people. This internship allowed one of the individuals involved to continue her university studies as a result of the experience she gained.
This tool explains how to create a sociocultural gender score using data that has already been collected. It is a guide that outlines the methodology and quality control checks throughout the process.
5 axis
This document is therefore constructed in 5 main areas:
1) What is sex and gender?
A quick presentation of the rational behind the concepts of sex and gender.
2) Why measure gender in human research?
A review of the literature to highlight the scientific support for this measure.
3) How to measure gender? A quick introduction to the concept of a composite gender index.
Presentation of the tools.
4) Detailed presentation of the method for creating a composite gender index using previously collected data.
5) Some preliminary results supporting the quality and contribution of the tools presented.
Including a Measure of Sex and Gender in Your Research Project
Jeanne is interested in including a measure of sex and gender in her research project, especially given the emphasis that funding bodies place on their inclusion in research.
She is using data that has already been collected for her research project and is therefore limited by the available data.
Using the guide
Jeanne therefore uses the composite index creation tool to generate a sociocultural gender score. She conducts analyses to identify variables polarized by sex (excluding her primary variables of interest) in order to include them in her factor analysis. Once the score is generated, she can proceed with the other analyses in her project.
Impact
Jeanne produces high-quality results and is one of the first to have measured the impact of sociocultural gender in her field of research. Her results highlight the importance of considering gender, and she identifies trends that differ significantly from those observed when measuring sex alone.
The guide, supported by the Unité de soutien SSA Québec, was designed in 2022 by:
- Enzo Cipriani
- Charles-Edouard Giguère
- Eugénie Samson-Daoust
- Ioana Cotocea
- Robert-Paul Juster
The tool is available in French:
Cipriani, E., Giguère, C. E., Samson-Daoust, E., Cotocea, I., & Juster, J. P. (2022). Comment mesurer indirectement le genre en recherche sur les humains? Présentation d’un guide de création pour un index de genre composite. Canada, Montréal: Unité de Soutien SSA Québec.
Gender Assessment Questionnaire
This document is part of a larger project that includes two tools for assessing the gender of people involved in health and other research projects (this guide for creating a composite gender score and a gender measurement questionnaire).
Questionnaire for measuring human gender in research
This questionnaire measures gender identity, gender roles and sexual orientation in research.