Anonymity and Confidentiality in the Conduct of Online Surveys

1. Anonymity and Confidentiality in the Conduct of Online Surveys Cynthia B. Leung University of South Florida St. Petersburg Zafer Unal University of South Florida St. Petersburg

2. The Internet has made it possible to conduct many aspects of literacy research online. Internet or online surveys have become a popular type of research methodology. While online surveys have many advantages over other forms of survey administration, literacy researchers should consider ethical issues related to conducting research online when planning data collection over the Internet.

3. This chapter will focus on two issues that particularly apply to online research surveys: anonymity and confidentiality. Anonymity in a research study refers to ensuring that data collected cannot be traced back to a particular individual or other unit of analysis. Confidentiality refers to the process of protecting a research subject’s identity during and after a study. Internet research may appear to provide anonymity, but that may be a false perception.

4. Researchers must be aware that despite their best efforts to protect their respondents' identities, it is nearly impossible to fully guarantee respondent's anonymity; thus, in most cases they may only guarantee confidentiality. Multiple violations of physical, informational, and psychological privacy can occur, especially in ways participants are recruited for the study.

5. Chapter authors will provide examples from their own experiences with online surveys and suggest guidelines to follow when planning literacy research with online surveys.

6. Focus of Chapter • What ethical issues should be considered when planning and carrying out surveys using the Internet? • How can researchers ensure the protection of anonymity and confidentiality of online survey respondents? • In what types of research situations would it be better to administer surveys using traditional methods? • What types of research designs would benefit from online survey administration?

7. The Benefits and Challenges of Administering Online Surveys • Researchers can collect large amounts of data in a short period of time (ITS, 2012). • Internet surveys are fast, convenient for respondents (Llieva et al., 2002). • Data entered into online surveys can easily be aggregated and analyzed instantly (ITS, 2012). • Compilation of statistics is often in real time (Watt, 1999). • Online surveys can provide multimedia options (Andrews et al., 2003). • Cost is less than other survey methods (Bachmann et al., 1996; Couper, 2000; Llieva et al., 2002). • Challenge: Low Response rate; traditional surveys usually outperform online surveys by 10% (Dillman et al., 2009).

8. Protecting Confidentiality and Anonymity • Often, the promise of anonymity is included in the same sentence that guarantees confidentiality, as if the two concepts are the same (Sue & Ritter, 2012). However, Confidentiality and anonymity are not the same. • Providing anonymity in an online survey is a difficult task that requires more than avoiding collecting names and addresses on a survey.

9. How? • This chapter discusses each following issue in detail. • Separate Demographic Questions from the Main Survey Questions • Avoid Open-Ended Questions When Possible or Remind Participants about their Anonymity • Timing in Direct Online Reporting of Survey Results is important • Always use Secure Data Transmissions between Participant and Database Server • The location of Data Storage is critical • Email Invitations for a Survey Sent Directly from Survey Programs needs to be reviewed • The Sharing of Data is also critical

10. Conclusion • Maintaining participants’ anonymity and confidentiality is important, but sometimes impossible. However, important steps can be taken that may help researchers on these issues.