Designing and Conducting
Psychological Research
with Diverse Samples

Diversity of research samples is imperative for appropriately understanding psychosocial phenomena. This workshop is designed to provide a comprehensive discussion about strategies to diversify samples collected for social, behavioral, and medical sciences. The course will focus on discussing best practices for assessment measures, strategies for increasing sample diversity, and in-depth discussion of considerations when collecting data from diverse and underrepresented samples.

Instructor:
Craig Rodriguez-Seijas, PhD (University of Michigan)

Workshop Dates and Times:
Thursday, August 1th, 2024, 9:30am to 3:30pm ET
Friday, August 2th, 2024, 9:30am to 2:00pm ET

Workshop Format:
Two-Day Synchronous Online Workshop

Psychological, and other related scientific disciplines, are built upon data that is overwhelmingly representative of dominant populations. Diverse and minoritized populations are typically considered afterthoughts in data collection efforts. With many scientists’ increasing interest in being able to collect representative populations and additional focus being paid to diversifying research samples (e.g., increasing scrutiny of samples from journals and reviewers), being able to appropriately represent the wealth of diversity within our samples is imperative. However, increasing sample diversity might not always be straightforward to all researchers and can be influenced by multiple factors.

This 2-day course is designed to provide the basics of appropriate theory and strategies researchers can employ when designing studies to maximize the diversity of their research samples. Topics covered will include: Intersectionality theory to inform research planning, Considerations for measure selection and questionnaire design, Psychometric considerations, Recruitment strategies for diversifying samples, Common challenges, and troubleshooting. Time will also be set aside to troubleshoot specific research projects participants are planning, thus allowing participants to consider strategies that will be appropriate for them prior to data collection efforts begin.

What you’ll learn

  • Theoretical Considerations – Understand how sociocultural context might impact variables of interest and how to build this into the research design and protocol. Appreciate how science as usual excludes appropriate sample diversity to the field’s detriment.

  • Survey Design – Learn the types of questions to ask and what you can ask. Expand your understanding of considerations that can inform question and measure selection and design.

  • Recruitment & Participant Engagement – Learn strategies that can benefit diversification of samples from leveraging pre-existing resources for data collection to tips from experiences with designing and collecting data from diverse samples.

  • Personalized Feedback – Access personalized feedback from the instructor for participants’ specific research projects and to troubleshoot individual concerns about how to increase diversity of research samples.

Syllabus

Day 1 – Conceptual Foundations

  1. Why attend to sample diversity?

  2. Philosophy of psychological sciences – Relevance for diversity

  3. Intersectionality Theory Fundamentals

  4. Measurement Considerations: Demographic Identities

  5. Moving Beyond Demography

Day 2 – Practical Application

  1. Best Practices for Collecting Demographic Information

  2. Recruitment of Diverse Populations

  3. Retention of Participants

  4. Utility of Measurement Invariance

  5. Individualized Feedback & Project Planning

Registration Options

Designing and Conducting Psychological Research with Diverse Samples

  • Professional
  • $599
  • Baseline Price for Faculty,
    Staff, and Other Professionals
  • Click Register Below
  • Trainee
  • $599 $399
  • 33% Discount for
    Students and Postdocs
  • Use code "TRAINEE" at Checkout

 FAQs

  • This workshop is specially designed for researchers in the behavioral and health sciences who are interested in learning strategies to help them design studies to maximize sample diversity.

  • Beginner

  • No specific prior knowledge is necessary. Basic research design experience is recommended.

  • Participants will be provided with a curated reading list and article pdfs.