Systematic Review Of The Content And Methods Of Empirical Psychological Research On Lgbtq And Sgm Populations In The New Millennium

Over the past century, the content and methods of empirical research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) or sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations have evolved. The present study aimed to describe and quantify broad content themes, methodological and design features, and trends over time in the empirical psychological literature base on LGBTQ and SGM populations since the start of the new millennium. A systematic review of 650 study samples with LGBTQ or SGM participants from 632 empirical research articles with LGBTQ or SGM terms in the article title, published in English in peer-reviewed journals indexed in PsycINFO in selected years (2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015), is reported in this article. Findings suggest substantial increases in the number, but not the percentage, of studies with LGBTQ or SGM participants since the start of the new millennium. Even with this increase in volume, the literature remains characterized almost exclusively by nonexperimental, descriptive, or observational research relying primarily on cross-sectional, retrospective, correlational designs and nonprobability, self-selected, or convenience sampling methods. Despite an increase in use of online recruitment and data collection, the majority of sample sizes remain small to moderate in size. Most samples were composed of adults and an increase in racial/ethnic diversity of study samples was observed over time. Reporting of important sample characteristics, particularly socioeconomic status, was frequently inadequate. Findings indicate that research sampling has evolved substantially from its historic roots; however, there is much room for greater methodological diversity and rigor in this area of research.