The Lincoln Journal Star recently published an article, last updated February 15, 2016, titled “Study finds broad support of workplace protections for gay, lesbian Nebraskans.”
The article reads:
Of more than 1,600 Nebraskans who responded to a statewide survey in 2013, 74 percent said they support laws that protect gay men and lesbian women from job discrimination, the UNL researchers wrote in an article published in December by Sexuality Research and Social Policy, a peer-reviewed academic journal.
This is what the Lincoln Journal Star failed to mention:
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The journal which contains the study, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, falls short of being an objective scientific forum.
Sexuality Research and Social Policy is the publishing arm of an organization whose express purpose is to advocate for the positive representation of sexualities. This indicates a high likelihood of biases.
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There are significant doubts about whether the survey is a representative sample of the Nebraska population considering that:
- 73.2% of recipients did not complete it. Its length, 137 questions, could easily have hindered many from participating.
- The sample was skewed in that it included a disproportionate number of highly educated people. 44.7% of the sample had achieved at least a bachelor’s degree compared to only 28.5% of Nebraska’s general population.
- Political affiliations were also disproportionately represented. The sample included 41% Republicans and 33% independents whereas Gallup statistics for 2008 list Nebraska as being 54% Republican and 22% independent. The survey’s statistics have an even greater divergence from those provided by the Nebraska Republican Party which cites 64% Republican and 10% independent as “likely voters.”
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Even if the survey’s sample had been representative of Nebraska’s population, the results should still be viewed with some skepticism.
Surveys about controversial social and political issues such as gay rights are especially susceptible to statistical distortions. This is due to “social desirability bias, the tendency of people to give what they believe is the socially acceptable view rather than disclose their true feelings on a sensitive topic” (Pew Research Center, 9/30/13).
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Perhaps the most important critique concerns questions the study failed to ask.
No inquiries were made regarding the details of potential statutes. For example, participants were not asked about the punitive consequences that violators of future anti-discrimination statutes might face. Nor were questions asked about possible exemptions for institutions such as church or religiously-affiliated schools, charities or non-profits. “Workplace fairness” as an ideal may be relatively appealing until the imposition of penalties against familiar or beloved institutions is understood as a potential consequence.
Edward Stringham, Ph.D.
Licensed psychologist
