How do you use sex as a target group characteristic?

In the target group profile, sex is a demographic characteristic whose meaning and distribution are documented using a specified data source. The entry must match what was actually recorded or asked.

If gender identity was asked about, label the result as gender identity. If the data concern recorded sex, document the source definition. Use the field to describe the group studied; support associations, buying motives and decision authority with evidence suited to those questions.

The field name Sex can conceal different kinds of information. Clarify the variable before interpreting it.

The National Academies distinguish sex and gender and recommend specifying the construct being measured. NASEM, 2022 This supports clear measurement without requiring every target group study to collect all these data.

Retain the exact question and response options in the research documentation. Existing data may have unclear definitions. Write ‘recorded as male/female; original question unknown’, for example, instead of assigning a more precise meaning retrospectively. Do not guess from a name, photograph or job title.

Identify the role the information plays in your study:

Dolnicar, Grün and Leisch distinguish variables used to form segments from additional information used to describe them. Dolnicar et al., 2018

Our practical application is to state which function the characteristic serves. A distribution discovered afterwards is not automatically a membership criterion. A distribution chosen in advance is likewise not evidence that the market has that composition.

‘Usually a woman; decides independently until the budget is exceeded’ contains two different claims. The first describes a distribution. The second concerns a role and authority. Understanding that authority requires investigating the decision process.

Webster and Wind described organisational purchasing as an organisational decision-making process. Webster & Wind, 1972 This provides historical context for examining a buying decision within its organisation.

Keep demographic information and the role description distinguishable in the profile. Record separately who uses, advises, controls the budget or gives final approval. One person may hold several roles. Which roles actually occur must follow from the situation studied.

If the profile has no dedicated authority field, record this as clearly labelled additional information. A demographic label cannot replace establishing who has authority to decide.

For a proportion or percentage, document at least:

This is Neurofactor’s practical reporting guidance. Selection and recruitment may produce a sample that differs from the wider target group. Without appropriate supporting evidence, present a participant distribution as a participant distribution.

If the characteristic is irrelevant to the research question, record ‘not asked’. If no usable source exists, use ‘unknown’. Both are more informative than an apparently precise estimate without a basis.

Fictional numerical example — not Neurofactor research or a market distribution.

A CRM-choice study includes forty participants. The question concerned self-reported gender identity. Each participant selected one response option; all forty responses are recorded in this example.

A concise entry for the existing profile field is:

Measured as gender identity: in this sample (n = 40), 45% woman, 40% man, 5% non-binary and 10% without a substantive answer; the distribution in the wider target group has not been established.

The largest category is not an absolute majority here. ‘Predominantly female’ could therefore give the wrong impression. Four participants chose not to disclose their identity; these responses must not be interpreted as another gender identity.

Excluding the four non-substantive responses changes the denominator from forty to thirty-six. The share answering ‘woman’ then becomes 18/36 = 50%. Both calculations can answer a question, but the denominator must be stated.

The table is not a universally recommended questionnaire. Wording and response options need to fit the intended construct and research context.

A distribution alone does not establish a shared association pattern. People in different categories may attach the same meaning to an offer; different patterns may occur within one category. Investigate associations directly if they are the basis of your segmentation.

To examine whether a pattern relates to sex or gender identity, compare its occurrence within each category. Do not simply count how many people from each category appear in the pattern: that count also depends on each category’s size in your data.

Consider counts, uncertainty and possible relationships with factors such as role or usage experience. An observed difference describes the data studied. It does not automatically establish a biological cause or a characteristic of every individual. Claims about small subgroups may require more data.

When data are available:

[Exact variable]: within [reference group, n and period], the distribution is [categories with counts or percentages], with [extent and treatment of missing responses]; source: [reference].

When data are unavailable:

Not established: no usable distribution based on [intended variable] is available for this target group.

When you deliberately did not collect the information:

Not asked: this characteristic was outside the research question.

Attach the method and limitation to the profile if one sentence is insufficient. The short field entry remains an entry point to its supporting evidence.

Preserve the construct when translating. The Dutch field Geslacht must not silently become ‘gender identity’ in English if the source recorded sex.

The field helps when readers know what was measured, among whom and on what data basis. It can then enrich the group description or support a comparison. Explaining choices and identifying decision roles each require their own evidence.

Discuss the choice you want to understand and the data needed to describe the group and decision roles carefully.