The need to identify participants arises if one needs to consult participants several times.
Such anonymous data usually do not have privacy issues. For example, if a within-groups experiment where one observes how participants respond to two variations of an input technique can be conducted in a single session there is no need to know who these participants are. If a study can be conducted in a single session per participant, it is usually straightforward to maintain anonymity as one does not need to know the identity of the participant.
The issue of privacy of participants in research studies is indeed highly relevant in many disciplines. But studies in other fields such as computer science could also involve vulnerable cohorts such as individuals with dyslexia, low vision or other disabilities. Obviously, health related research often involves sensitive information. If personal data includes sensitive information, such as information about health, reduced functioning, and similar, the regulations and procedures are even stricter. Often researchers must file formal applications for permissions to store personal data. When researchers need to store personal information such as names, national ID numbers, phone numbers, etc., the researchers need to document adequate mechanisms for secure storage of the data, and routines for deleting the data at the end of a project. The World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki–Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects states that “Every precaution must be taken to protect the privacy of research subjects and the confidentiality of their personal information.” Privacy is also regulated by legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which applies in the European Union. The privacy and safety of participants is of utmost importance in research that involves people.
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