Running head: RESEARCH DESIGN PAPER

Research Design Paper

Tiff Hayes
EDUC 500
Professor Chattin-McNichols
November 25, 2013
Seattle University

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Abstract

We plan to explore the differences in academic success among different transgender identified
students from 38 universities across the United States, all with more than 15,000 full time
enrolled students. We would survey students with an online questionnaire that asks about their
G.P.A., gender identity and many other questions related to academic success and gender
identity. We plan to use a factorial ANOVA test to analyze our data.
Introduction
There is little research on gender identity in higher education, and even less on the
relationship between gender identity and academic success. The research that exists is mostly
focused on students that identify within the male-female binary of gender. As students
continually self-identify with gender identities that are not the majority, our need as educators to
increase our knowledge of these students and the unique challenges they face in regards to
academic success also grows.
Literature Review
Current research on these topics includes much about how most previous research is
based on the gender binary of male and female and does not consider gender as a spectrum
(Bilodeau, 2005; Dugan, Kusel, & Simounet, 2012; Fellabaum, 2011; Krum, Davis, & Galupo
2013). This study is more focused on those who fall outside the binary of male and female that is
so common in our society. Even some of the research reviewed used the gender binary when
discussing queer students (Olive, 2009). Much of the research done on transgender individuals
even splits the subjects into male and female groups, which is not inclusive of students who
identify as gender-nonconforming or gender diverse (Dugan et al., 2012; Rankin & Beemyn,

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2012). There has been some research done on students that fall outside of the gender binary
(Bilodeau, 2005; Krum et al., 2013; Mintz, 2011), however, this research is mostly focused on
transgender identity development and campus climate and not on academic success.
This study will provide support for the idea that students who fall outside of the gender
binary are less likely to succeed academically in higher education when compared to national
averages and their gender-conforming peers.
Key terms used in this study include transgender, which has come to represent and serve
as an umbrella term to include individuals whose gender identities do not comply with binary
assumptions and whose birth sex deviates from their internal identification (Dugan et al., 2012).
Researchers and students alike use the terms gender and sex interchangeably in much of the
research available concerning gender-nonconforming students. In this study, gender refers to
socially constructed learned behaviors (Dugan et al., 2012) and sex refers to biological
characteristics (Sausa, 2002). Academic success is defined as receiving a passing grade in all
classes each term or a minimum of 2.0 grade point average each term while enrolled at their
institution.
Methods
The population for this study is transgender and gender-nonconforming students in the
United States higher education system and a disproportional stratified sampling method is
proposed. We would send an online survey to students through the avenues described later in this
description and once we received responses to the survey, we would separate respondents into
the strata of different transgender identified students: female to male (FtM), gendernonconforming, and male to female (MtF). Of those strata, we would choose our sample by

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selecting thirty from each to include. Using a disproportional stratified sampling method would
allow us to ensure that our results are more significant than if we used a random sample. Given
that our population is an underrepresented group of people in this country, using a random
sample would not easily yield a large enough sample in each group to be used to generalize the
results. Disproportional stratified sampling ensures a sufficient number of subjects in each strata
to be representative of each group. This is especially important given the research showing how
much less common, or at least less self-identified, MtF people are (Dugan et al., 2012). Though
our sampling method is the most appropriate for this research study, it does not come without
bias. Since this sample would be comprised of online survey takers across the country, there is a
hefty amount of volunteer bias that would come along with our data. We plan to disseminate the
survey through contacts at various LGBTQ centers, student clubs/groups/organizations,
counseling centers, and housing and residence life offices (focusing on those with LGBTQ or
gender inclusive halls and floors).
We have created a survey that would serve as the instrument for this study. The survey
consists of questions about a students gender identity, academic performance (including grades
and grade point average) and other questions regarding identity and academic success, and would
be distributed online via SurveyMonkey. We plan to send the link to professional staff, faculty
and students at colleges and universities across the U.S. that have 15,000 or more full-time
enrolled students. Creating a new survey that does not currently exist is important for our
research study because there is not currently much research or many instruments that are
appropriate for this kind of study. To assure reliability of this survey, we would regularly consult
peers and experts regarding our survey and the inferences we make based on our data. Also to
increase reliability, we plan to contact respondents after receiving their responses online to

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assure any inferences we make are aligned with their intentions. We plan to use low inference
descriptors when sharing information after gathering data to be sure we are as open as possible
with readers. We want to make sure that even though we have created our own survey for this
research, the results are reliable, statistically significant and valid.
This study would use a comparative research design, investigating the relationship
between identification as transgender (FtM, gender-nonconforming, and MtF) and academic
success. We plan to compare the results from our survey to national averages of term G.P.A. and
grades of all students. We recognize that these numbers would also include those of transgender
identified students, however, the comparison would still show a significant difference in our
results and national averages. We plan to use a pilot study to send to the Seattle University
community (because this institution will not be included in the planned group of institutions for
our study) to assist in selection of final questions for our study. This pilot study is an attempt to
increase the internal validity of our survey and eventual results. As far as external validity is
concerned, we plan to control threats by using common terms to increase our translatability and
use similar methods, samples and instruments as similar studies to increase our comparability.
One threat to internal validity that we foresee is expectancy, or the Hawthorne Effect, regarding
students self-reporting their G.P.A.s. One way we hope to mitigate this threat as much as
possible is with something described earlier, embedding questions in our survey that we do not
need data on, so as to not only focus on grades and academic success. In an effort to limit
extraneous variables, we will also include questions regarding age, race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status and motivation. Controlling these variables (all of which can also have an
effect on academic success) will limit our generalizability but will increase our validity.

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Analysis

The statistical test that would be used to analyze the data received from our surveys
would be a chi-square. With a chi-square test, we would be looking to show that the null
hypothesis (that there is no difference in G.P.A./academic success between transgender students
and the national average) can be rejected. An example of a chi-square test of data is below in
table 1.
Table 1.
Chi-Square Analysis of Relationships Between Academic Success Indicators and Transgender
Subidentifications
Dependent
GenderFemale to Male
Male to Female
F
Measures
Nonconforming
Grade Point
Average in Most
Recent Term
Completion of
Attempted
Credits in Most
Recent Term (%)
Number of
Courses Failed in
College
* p < .04

3.35

3.51

3.09

0.47

77

82

65

0.33

0.29

If this data were collected and represented the information in the above table (relatively
significant data), we would know that based on our research, students who identify as MtF are
academically less successful than FtM and gender-nonconforming students. When we compare
these numbers to national averages, we will be able to see a more complete picture of whether or
not gender identity and academic success are related in any way. We could then use this data to
create and/or update programs, services and support at higher educational institutions across the

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country. If educators knew that there was a negative relationship between identifying outside of
the gender binary they would be able to discover and attempt to meet the needs of these students
more effectively, which would hopefully increase completion and graduation rates of transgender
students across the country.

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References

Bilodeau, B. (2005). Beyond the gender binary: A case study of two transgender students at a
Midwestern research university. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education, 3(1), 2944.
Dugan, J. P., Kusel, M. L., & Simounet, D. M. (2012). Transgender college students: An
exploratory study of perceptions, engagement, and educational outcomes. Journal of
College Student Development, 53(5), 719-736.
Fellabaum, J. (2011). Conceptualizing gender performance in higher education: Exploring
regulation of identity expression. NASPA Journal About Women In Higher Education,
4(2), 127-141.
Krum, T. E., Davis, K. S., & Galupo, M. (2013). Gender-inclusive housing preferences: A
survey of college-aged transgender students. Journal of LGBT Youth, 10(1-2), 64-82.
Mintz, L. M. 2011. Gender variance on campus: A critical analysis of transgender voices.
(Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ERIC. (No. ED533688).
Olive, J. (2009). Life histories of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer postsecondary students who
choose to persist: Education against the tide. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from
PsycINFO. (No. 2009-99191-092).
Rankin, S., & Beemyn, G. (2012). Beyond a binary: The lives of gender-nonconforming youth.
About Campus, 17(4), 2-10.
Sausa, L. A. (2002). Updating college and university campus policies: Meeting the needs of trans
students, staff, and faculty. In E. P. Cramer (Ed.), Addressing homophobia and
heterosexism on college campuses (pp. 4355). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.