5 Demographics questionnaire
5.1 Collecting participant information
Please use the MB5 Demographics Questionnaire1 to collect information about participants and their families.
1 This questionnaire is adapted from the template(s) created by the MB-Demographics group. Please see Singh et al. (2024) for more information on the development of the template.
While parents/guardians can choose to not respond to individual questions, please CHECK THE FORM BEFORE THE RESPONDANT LEAVES YOUR LAB to avoid accidental blank responses/missing data.2
2 In other words, please confirm that blank items are intentional non-responses rather than mistakes (e.g., respondant didn’t understand what the question was asking, didn’t know the questionnaire form was two-sided, etc.).
5.2 Adaptations and translations
As noted in Singh et al. (2024), the MB demographics questionnaire template was developed to query information pertaining to six constructs (biographical information, gestational status, health status, community of descent, caregiving environment, and socioeconomic status). We have added a few additional questions that are of particular interest to MB5 (e.g., family history of colorblindness).
We recognize that the specific questions/response options on the example template (which was developed in English for use in the United States) are not appropriate for all contexts.
We encourage labs to translate and adapt the questionnaire template as needed, while keeping in mind the goal of querying the same constructs included in the original template to ensure consistency in reporting. For example, the question on race/ethnicity can be adapted to meet the norms of your region. If possible, please use racial/ethnic categories taken from local census categories. For countries where it is not considered socially or legally acceptable to inquire about ethnic background, please adapt to a more appropriate question (e.g., parent and child place of birth), if possible.
If you have any questions about adapting the questionnaire, please contact the leadership team (mb5@manybabies.org) to discuss your concerns. Let us know if any of the questions are unclear to you—it is important that you are able to answer any questions parents/guardians may have.
Translations/adaptations of the MB5 Demographics Questionnaire will be available here as they are created.3
3 Existing translations/adaptations of the MB-Demographics template are available via the MB-Demographics OSF repository.
5.3 Uploading demographics questionnaire
All labs must upload a blank copy of the Demographics Questionnaire they will be using for MB5 via the MB5 Upload Form (even if you are using the provided template with no modifications!).
Please ensure that all uploaded materials are clearly labeled in the filename with your LabID (e.g. babylabPrinceton_questionnaire.pdf). Check the list of LabIDs to confirm your lab’s unique LabID before uploading.