Population-Based Surveys, Collection of Data on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Much of what we know about the U.S. population in terms of demographics, health, military service, economic status, labor force participation, and a variety of other characteristics comes from surveys of the U.S. population administered by the federal government. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts the decennial census and other surveys to understand the demographics and characteristics of the U.S. population. State governments also conduct surveys to find out how the residents of their state are faring. These surveys are designed in a way so we can understand aspects about the full population of interest based on a smaller sample from that population. The types of surveys that use a sample of survey respondents to draw inferences about the full population are called population-based ...