Evidence of Pro-Homosexual Bias in Social Science: Citation Rates and Research on Lesbian Parenting

Abstract

Three refereed journal articles concerning lesbian family life were identified and compared for content and methodological quality. The articles shared the same authors, same academic institution of origin, the same samples, similar dates of publication, and even the same journals. However, one article reported evidence less supportive of lesbian parenting while two articles reported evidence more supportive of lesbian parenting. Citation rates for the articles were compared. The supportive reports have been cited 28 to 37 times since their publication compared to only two citations for the less supportive report, in spite of its possibly better methodological qualities. The citation rate differences were statistically significant. Implications for this possible evidence of pro-homosexual bias in the social sciences are discussed.

Navigating Treacherous Waters—One Researcher's 40 Years of Experience with Controversial Scientific Research,

“…The two papers discussed results that appeared to be favorable to lesbian mothers ( Mucklow & Phelan, 1979 ;Miller, et al ., 1981 ) and were cited (by Google Scholar as of December 18, 2015) 72 and 94 times, respectively-over eighteen times (166 to 9) more often than the one paper ( Miller, et al ., 1980 , cited 9 times) reporting results "not favorable" to lesbian mothers ( Schumm, 2010d ), despite the fact that the latter results were later replicated in part by Dundas and Kaufman (2000 ), so they were likely robust. Sometimes this non-citation bias or "refusal to cite" is even more direct: in their literature review, Fedewa, et al .…”

“Adult Attachment Style Dimensions in Women Who Have Gay or Bisexual Fathers”: Response to Sirota

“…The three articles were by the same group of authors from the same academic institution and even used the same journal twice, as well as being from the same time frame. Nevertheless, the "adverse" article has only been cited twice, whereas the other two articles have been cited at least 65 times, a statistically significant difference, although it is possible the least cited article was the soundest methodologically (Schumm, 2010). It would appear that political pressures or biases within science have suppressed adverse information about gay and lesbian parenting outcomes while emphasizing positive information.…”

“…The fact that her research has been ignored appears to be part of a larger trend of selective attention among scientists and researchers. For example, there were three research articles published between 1979 and 1981 that studied lesbian mothers and their families (Schumm, 2010). One article reported adverse information about lesbian parenting (Miller, Mucklow, Jacobsen, & Bigner, 1980), whereas the other two (Miller, Jacobsen, & Bigner, 1981;Mucklow & Phelan, 1979) reported more positive information.…”

Same-Sex Marriage and the Boundaries of Diversity: Will Marriage and Family Therapy Remain Inclusive of Religious and Social Conservatives?

“…In fact, the empirical methods of psychology contain their own ''innate'' values and are also influenced by the value assumptions of researchers (Fife & Whiting, 2007;Slife, 2008), as suggested by the aforementioned distinctly imbalanced citation ratio (Schumm, 2010c). The utilization of these methods cannot take place without the application of interpretive biases of some sort (including intuitively moral ones), particularly when investigating value-laden subjects such as same-sex marriage (Haidt, 2012;Schumm, 2010c). Moreover, the literature pertaining to same-sex marriage is in its infancy.…”

“…Definitive statements by mental health associations on same-sex parenting and sexual orientation change efforts appear to be relevant examples (APA, 2005(APA, , 2009Jones, Rosik, Williams, & Byrd, 2010;Marks, 2012;Redding, 2013;Schumm, 2010bSchumm, , 2013. Schumm (2010c) examined citation rates in three refereed journal articles concerning lesbian families that had similar authors, samples, publication dates, and methodological quality. Two articles reported findings more supportive of lesbian parenting and one provided less supportive evidence.…”