Abstract
The notion of " recruitment " of participants for psychological research exists within discursive structures of academic subculture, which include standpoints on sampling, representation and generalisation. In the present article I discuss recruitment in light of some queries surrounding the conceptualisation of the sex/ gender and sexuality of participants in psychological research. Participants' sex/gender is almost universally reported in research, but the hegemonic binary is not without limits of inclusivity. Routinely requesting participants' sexuality also creates a dilemma of labelling: it is necessary in order to be able to describe that aspect of a sample, but preconceived groupings can be reinscribed both by requesting participants' sexuality and by attempts to stratify recruitment. Moreover, the requesting of any grouping tacitly substantiates positivist epistemology through the seeking of (quantified) group differences. I illustrate these issues using experiential examples and insights from a series of studies into beliefs about chronic illnesses (including HIV/AIDS) that demonstrate some difficulties of attempting to be inclusive by sexuality. In an endeavour to work with the dilemma of labelling I raise a series of questions to pose when planning a study. I present some pragmatic ideas for going about stratification by sex/gender and sexuality (nested within any targeted elements of sampling). I outline how these considerations add to ongoing methodological reflections on recruitment of participants for psychological research that is inclusive of individuals with diverse sexualities.