SPART*A welcomes partnerships with researchers seeking to increase scientific knowledge about the lives of transgender service members. However, we ask that researchers be mindful of transgender affirmative research practices and ethical considerations when conducting research with marginalized populations.
We encourage researchers to engage the transgender community as active collaborators in the production of knowledge about transgender bodies and experiences. The recommended best practice is to partner with communities and experts in LGBTQ+ affirming research early in the study design process. It is much more difficult to incorporate community feedback after you have already submitted for IRB approval. Please reach out if you would like brief consultation or feedback on research questions, measure selection, or crafting new items. We’re happy to help!
Please note: While we do have a group that includes Veterans and allies, SPARTA's community support mission is focused on actively-serving transgender military personnel. If your study specifically addresses transgender Veterans, please consider reaching out to our partners at the Transgender American Veterans Association.
Ready for Recruitment?
If you would like SPART*A to share your recruitment letter with our members please submit the following to our research director, Jacob R. Eleazer, Ph.D.
- Curriculum vitae (CV)
- If you are a student researcher, please include a CV for the faculty member who is supervising your research activities (PI, dissertation/thesis chair, academic advisor).
- TRICON survey responses, including additional items for SPART*A requests (see below)
- IRB approval letter
- Recruitment materials (letter, flyer, or advertisement that you would like posted)
TRICON Model
SPART*A adopted the Transgender Research Informed Consent (TRICON) disclosure policy, developed by the administration team of the International Transgender Health Forum (Winters, D’orsay, & Sirenu, 2019). Please include this list of questions and your answers in your solicitation posts:
- What is the specific objective of the study and its intended impact on future trans lives?
- Who is/are the principal investigator(s)?
- What is/are the sponsoring institution(s) or organization(s)?
- How are trans scholars/researchers included in this research work?
- Who is funding the study? Describe any conflicts of interest.
- Is there IRB/Ethics board approval? Describe ethical practices specific to trans subjects.
- What is the target study population? Describe geographic scope, languages, and intersectional inclusion.
- Is there a cost or travel requirement, or is there compensation for participants?
- Will the results be published in open access journals or channels?
Additional questions from the SPART*A Director of Research:
- What experience do you have conducting research with the LGBTQ+, military, and/or veteran communities?
- If you have no previous LGBTQ+ affirmative research experience, do you have a supervisor or mentor with experience in this field who is consulting on this project? If so, who?
- Are you interested in being connected with a trans affirmative research mentor?
- Are you interested in becoming a trans affirmative research mentor?
Interested in adopting the TRICON Disclosure Policy for your organization?
The Transgender Research Informed Consent (TRICON) Disclosure Policy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by the International Transgender Health Forum administration team: K. Winters, A. D’orsay, and V. Sirenu, March, 2019. Feel free to distribute it to trans service organizations and research institutions and to utilize it with attribution.
