FAQs about Thriving in College: A National Study of LGBTQ+ Students project

Thriving in College: A National Study of LGBTQ+ Students is a longitudinal, mixed-methods study, investigating the ways that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) students succeed and thrive in college. Most of the existing literature examines negative climate and barriers that LGBTQ+ college students face. Our study departs from that approach by using asset-based framing to focus on how these students succeed and how institutions can best support and serve their success. 

The quantitative portion of this mixed-methods study will use survey instruments, created using critical quantitative approaches, to examine the experiences that influence LGBTQ+ students’ learning and success. The qualitative portion will include semi-structured interviews to focus on how LGBTQ+ students thrive in college and how their collegiate experiences vary by material conditions, social identities, and institutional profiles/resources.

The Primary Investigator for the study is Cindy Ann Kilgo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. The Co-Primary Investigators for the study are Jodi Linley, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of Iowa and Alex C. Lange, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Higher Education at Colorado State University.

Collectively, the three Co-PIs have published over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and books. Each of the Co-PIs also have extensive experience studying LGBTQ+ college students, including working with multiple longitudinal, national studies.

Undergraduate students who are at least 18 years old, who will be second-year students in Fall 2024, and who identify as LGBTQ+ are eligible to participate.

We will collect quantitative data at three time points throughout participants’ second and third years of college. The quantitative data collection will occur in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Spring 2026. Each of the three surveys will take approximately 30 minutes for participants to complete.

For the qualitative portion of the study, a select number (no more than 100) of overall participants will be asked to also participate in the qualitative portion. Our goal/estimated sample is 2,500 students, which means that not all institutions will have a qualitative participant (and any institution is likely to only have one participant in the qualitative portion). They will participate in three individual interviews that will occur in Spring 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026. Each of the interviews will take approximately 60 – 90 minutes.

The timeline below outlines the process for data collection.

Beginning with a list of institutions derived from IPEDs, we created a stratified random sample of 303 institutions.

We first eliminated institutions that were classified by The Carnegie Classification as Special Focus Institutions, Associate’s Colleges, and Baccalaureate/Associate’s Colleges (Mixed).

We then created a stratified sample based on institutions marked as Minority Serving (MSI) (HBCU, Hispanic Serving Institution, Tribal College, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution) and Carnegie Classification size categories (< 1,000; 1,000 – 2,999; 3,000 – 9,999; 10,000 and above). 

We purposefully oversampled (disproportionate sample) MSIs, given the lack of literature on LGBTQ+ students at these institutions. We proportionately sampled institutions within each of the size category: Very Small (9%), Small (31%), Medium (35%), and Large (25%).

The core of this project will focus on studying what contributes to and is included in the thriving of LGBTQ+ college students. The survey and interview questions center around students’ high school experiences, college experiences, health and well-being, and several collegiate outcomes. Outcomes included are available to view on this webpage.

This study is funded by The Spencer Foundation. The grant was awarded in summer 2023.

Students participating in the study will receive a $5.00 gift card for each survey they complete. Additionally, all participants will be entered in a raffle for two $150.00 gift cards for each data collection point. If participants are selected and consent to participate in interviews, they will receive a $25.00 gift card for each interview they complete.

Institutions who agree to participate in the project will receive a summary report of the quantitative data collected. This report will provide descriptive analyses on the experiences of participants. It will also be disaggregated into groups based on Carnegie Classification sizes, so institutions can see a snapshot of LGBTQ+ students’ experiences for their size institution.

While no study can guarantee complete privacy, we will be taking several steps to protect participants’ identity.

• Our study will be under the Indiana University Institutional Review Board.
• All participants will receive a participant number, which will not be related to any of their personal information.
• All data will be collected within the Indiana University Qualtrics platform, using the anonymize responses feature. This feature allows researchers to send targeted and customized reminders while simultaneously protecting students' identities. This feature removes any identifying information in the contact list from the survey response.
• After data collection is complete, all email addresses will be deleted from Qualtrics.

You can email qtthrive@iu.edu with any questions you have. This email account is monitored by both the study PI and Graduate Research Assistant.