RESEARCH ON THE WORK EXPERIENCES OF LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE- AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

The methodology and content of nine published studies on the workplace experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are examined. Findin gs are integrated within five areas of common content: the pervasivene ss of discrimination in the workplace, formal and informal types of di scrimination, fear of discrimination, variability of workers in their openness about sexual orientation, and correlates of workers' degree o f openness versus concealment of sexual orientation. The methodology e mployed in existing research is examined focusing specifically on samp ling, data collection, and analyses and presentation of results. Recom mendations for improving those aspects of methodology in future studie s are made. Finally, ideas for expanding the scope of the content and methodology of research concerning the workplace experiences of this p opulation are presented. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.