Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh.
Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023 Sep;18(5):979-995. doi: 10.1177/17456916221137350. Epub 2022 Dec 2.
The collection and use of demographic data in psychological sciences has the potential to aid in transforming inequities brought about by unjust social conditions toward equity. However, many current methods surrounding demographic data do not achieve this goal. Some methods function to reduce, but not eliminate, inequities, whereas others may perpetuate harmful stereotypes, invalidate minoritized identities, and exclude key groups from research participation or access to disseminated findings. In this article, we aim to (a) review key ethical and social-justice dilemmas inherent to working with demographic data in psychological research and (b) introduce a framework positioned in ethics and social justice to help psychologists and researchers in social-science fields make thoughtful decisions about the collection and use of demographic data. Although demographic data methods vary across subdisciplines and research topics, we assert that these core issues-and solutions-are relevant to all research within the psychological sciences, including basic and applied research. Our overarching aim is to support key stakeholders in psychology (e.g., researchers, funding agencies, journal editors, peer reviewers) in making ethical and socially-just decisions about the collection, analysis, reporting, interpretation, and dissemination of demographic data.
在心理科学中收集和使用人口统计学数据有可能帮助将不公正的社会条件造成的不平等转化为公平。然而，目前许多围绕人口统计学数据的方法并没有实现这一目标。一些方法可以减少不平等，但不能消除不平等，而另一些方法可能会延续有害的刻板印象，使少数群体的身份无效，并将关键群体排除在研究参与或传播研究结果之外。在本文中，我们旨在（a）审查在心理研究中使用人口统计学数据所固有的关键伦理和社会公正难题，以及（b）介绍一个以伦理和社会公正为定位的框架，以帮助心理学家和社会科学领域的研究人员就人口统计学数据的收集和使用做出深思熟虑的决策。尽管人口统计学数据方法因子学科和研究课题而异，但我们断言，这些核心问题和解决方案与心理科学中的所有研究都有关，包括基础研究和应用研究。我们的总体目标是支持心理学中的主要利益相关者（例如，研究人员、资助机构、期刊编辑、同行评审员）在人口统计学数据的收集、分析、报告、解释和传播方面做出合乎道德和公正的决策。
