A holistic approach to confidentiality assurance in statistical data

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Gates, Gerald W.^{; 1}

Affiliations: US Census Bureau Policy Office, 4700 Silver Hill Rd., Washington, DC 20233-0001, USA. Tel.: +1 301 457 2515; Fax: +1 301 457 2654; E-mail: [email protected]

Note: [1] This paper reports the results of research and analysis undertaken by Census Bureau staff. It has undergone a more limited Census Bureau review than official Census Bureau publications. This report is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion on work in progress.

Abstract: This paper describes research at the US Census Bureau on the public's perceptions of confidentiality and privacy in the release of statistical data products and new tools to access them. With the use of the Internet to disseminate data, the US Census Bureau recognized that the public would not only have better access to statistical data, they would be more aware of the potential threats to confidentiality in data tabulations and microdata. Some of these threats are real and much research has been done to address them. However, much less is understood about perceptions of threats that may not be real. The paper reports on possible negative perceptions about data products, research to measure these perceptions, and activities, such as targeted messages, to address them.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18403

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 299-307, 2001