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Collecting inclusive demographic data

People and participants can be sensitive about the collection of personal data, particularly personal data relating to inclusive characteristics.

Sexual orientation: Sexual orientation may be very clear-cut for some participants, but some participants may prefer not to label themselves, and others might prefer not to disclose at all because they don’t feel comfortable answering the questions.

In some cases, answering such questions could be potentially harmful for participants due to cultural conflicts, including the admission of illegality in some countries. It is important to allow participants to self-describe and to opt-out of answering sensitive, personal questions.

Other issues to be considered include:

• Taking reasonable steps to design projects collecting sexual orientation data to the specification or quality standards agreed with clients; this includes which characteristics and parameters are to be used when identifying participants’ sexual orientation. Collection of sexual orientation questions needs to be appropriately tailored to the data collection tool.
• Participants being able to proceed with any data collection about sexual orientation without being required to respond if they do not wish to.
• A write-in field for the "Other" response option: this allows participants to report their sexual orientation rather than being classified as "Other".
• Response options ‘don’t know’ and ‘prefer not to say’ when gathering sexual orientation data from participants, to meet the MRS Code of Conduct data collection requirements.
• Consideration of the MRS Best Practice Guide on Research Participant Vulnerability when collecting sexual orientation data as participants may feel vulnerable disclosing this information
• Adequate preamble/context before sexual orientation questions are asked: this is an example of a very sensitive question, and it is important that participants are pre-warned that this type of questioning is to be included.
• Clarity as to why sexual orientation data is being collected. For example, in the England and Wales Census 2021 the ‘Why do we ask this?’ text alongside the sexual orientation question stated:
  • Your answer helps your local community by allowing charities, public bodies, and local and central government to understand what services people might need. This information helps monitor equality between groups of people of different sexual orientation. Your answer will help public bodies to identify potential discrimination or social exclusion based on sexual orientation and work to stop it from happening.
• Avoiding unconscious bias the order of sexual orientation response options provided should be considered. Alphabetising or randomising the response list should reduce any potential unconscious bias e.g., putting heterosexual/straight as the first option.
• Consideration of self-completion and online tools should, as a minimum, include an open field for participants to answer in a way that reflects their response if it does not fit in with any of the response options provided.
• Ensuring that steps are taken to maintain confidentiality of responses and this is conveyed to participants. Persons who reveal sexual orientation may be particularly concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of their responses.

For more detail see:

• MRS Best Practice Guide on Collecting Sample Data on Sexual Orientation

Ethnicity: Asking people about their ethnicity is a sensitive topic and can be more complicated than asking them about their age or country of birth, for example. This is often because ethnicity is based on a combination of factors. These can include someone’s country of birth, nationality, language, skin colour and religion. It is a self-defined and subjective concept – everyone has their own view about their own ethnicity.

Other issues to be considered include:

• Taking reasonable steps to design projects collecting ethnicity data to the specification or quality standards agreed with clients; this includes which characteristics and parameters are to be used when identifying participant ethnicity. Collection of ethnicity questions needs to be appropriately tailored to the data collection tool.
• Participants being able to proceed with any data collection about ethnicity without being required to respond if they do not wish to.
• Response options ‘don’t know’ and ‘prefer not to say’ when gathering ethnicity data from participants, to meet the MRS Code of Conduct data collection requirements.
• Use pre-specified classifications with care as these can constrain participants ability to self-identify ethnicity, leading participants to choose one of the options offered rather than expressing their own ethnicity. The use of pre-specified lists should be balanced with open options allowing for participants to self-identify.
• Adequate preamble/context before ethnic data questions are asked: this is an example of a very sensitive question, and it is important that participants are pre-warned that this type of questioning is to be included.
• Avoid unconscious ethnicity bias by considering the order of ethnic response options provided. Often White ethnicity option is put at the top of the ethnicity response options list which can have undertone of superiority. When undertaking data collection across the UK’s four nations any response options should be changed depending in the country in which the question is being asked.
• Open fields for participants to answer in a way that reflects their response if it does not fit in with any of the response options provided. Recruiter-aided techniques for collecting information need to build in a level of discretion and flexibility to ensure the questions are responsive and are handled sensitively.
• Considerations for other questions linked to ethnicity and whether these should be included and asked in conjunction with questions about ethnicity e.g., questions on national identity and religion. Testing has shown that asking a national identity question immediately before ethnicity increases public acceptability of the ethnicity question. Asking questions on national identify and religion in addition to ethnicity enables a more comprehensive understanding of participant’s ethnic and cultural identity which in turn leads to more accurate picture of the population.

Generally, the best way for you to collect ethnicity data is to ask the person for it and for participants to “self-report” their ethnicity.

For more detail see:

• MRS Best Practice Guide on Collecting Ethnicity Sample Data
• UK Government: standards for ethnicity data

Physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions: When collecting physical disabilities and/or mental health condition data from participants provide adequate preamble/context before physical disabilities and/or mental health questions are asked.

It is important that participants are pre-warned that this type of questioning is to be included. When doing so, be clear as to which category of physical disabilities and/or mental health condition data needs to be collected. Physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions are combined concepts, and the aims and nature of any data collection may determine whether there is a need to separate the characteristics or collect them together or consecutively. Generally, questions on the same topic should be placed together where possible.

It should be noted that physical disabilities health conditions significantly increase the risk of developing mental health problems and vice versa. For example, one in three people with a long-term physical disabilities health condition also has a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.

Other issues to be considered include:

• Taking reasonable steps to design projects collecting physical disabilities and/or mental health condition data to the specification or quality standards agreed with clients; this includes which characteristics and parameters are to be used when identifying participants with physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions.
• Participants will be able to proceed with any data collection about physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions without being required to respond if they do not wish to.
• Response options ‘don’t know’ and ‘prefer not to say’ when gathering physical disabilities and/or mental health data from participants.
• Consideration of the MRS Best Practice Guide on Research Participant Vulnerability when collecting physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions data as participants may be vulnerable or may feel vulnerable disclosing this information.
• Ensuring that only necessary information is collected is particularly important when collecting in-depth information about physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions. The level of detail required for a project should be reviewed to ensure that it is appropriate, proportionate and balanced.
• Ensuring that steps are taken to maintain confidentiality of responses, and this is conveyed to participants. Persons who reveal physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions may be particularly concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of their responses.
• Balancing data collection needs against the potential for intrusion: whilst collecting inclusive data is important, participants also should be protected from harm and have the right to a private life. Consider how physical disabilities and mental health data is collected, why it is being collected and implement measures to reduce the level of intrusion and potential for participant harm.

For more detail see:

• MRS Best Practice Guide on Collecting Sample Data on Physical Disabilities and/or Mental Health Conditions

Sex and gender identity: Gender may be very clear-cut for some participants, but some participants may prefer not to label themselves, and others might prefer not to disclose at all because they don’t feel comfortable answering the questions. In some cases, answering such questions could be potentially harmful for participants due to cultural conflicts, including the admission of illegality in some countries. It is important to allow participants to self-describe and to opt-out of answering sensitive, personal questions.

Other issues to be considered include:

• Taking reasonable steps to design projects collecting sex and gender data to the specification or quality standards agreed with clients; this includes which characteristics and parameters are to be used when identifying participants sex and gender. Collection of sex and gender questions needs to be appropriately tailored to the data collection tool.
• Participants being able to proceed with any data collection about sex and gender without being required to respond if they do not wish to.
• A write-in field for the "Other gender identity" response option: this allows participants to report their gender rather than being classified as "Other".
• Response options ‘don’t know’ and ‘prefer not to say’ when gathering sex and gender data from participants to meet the MRS Code of Conduct data collection requirements.
• Consideration of the MRS Best Practice Guide on Research Participant Vulnerability when collecting sex and gender data as participants may feel vulnerable disclosing this information.
• Providing adequate preamble/context before gender questions are asked: this is an example of a very sensitive question, and it is important that participants are pre-warned that this type of questioning is to be included.
• Encouraging clients to consider the level of detail required: this is particularly important if considering collecting in-depth information about gender. The level of detail required for a project should be reviewed to ensure that it is appropriate, proportionate and balanced.
• Ensure that steps are taken to maintain the confidentiality of responses and these assurances are conveyed to participants. Persons who reveal gender identity data may be particularly concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of their responses.
• Open fields for participants to answer in a way that reflects their response if it does not fit in with any of the response options provided. Recruiter-aided techniques for collecting information need to build in a level of discretion and flexibility, to ensure the questions are responsive and are handled sensitively.
• Balancing data collection needs against the potential for intrusion: whilst collecting inclusive data is important, participants also should be protected from harm and have the right to a private life. Consider how gender data is collected, why it is being collected and implement measures to reduce the level of intrusion and potential for participant harm.
• Avoiding unconscious gender bias by considering that the order of sex and gender response options provided. Alphabetising or randomising the response list should reduce any potential unconscious bias.

For more detail see:

• MRS Best Practice Guide: Collecting Data on Sex and Gender