Managing Disclosure Risks in the Curation and Dissemination of Research Data

• Activity Number: 234
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 5, 2013 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Business and Economic Statistics Section
• Author(s): John E. Marcotte*+ and George Alter and Susan Jekielek
• Companies: University of Michigan and University of Michigan and University of Michigan
• Keywords: data curation ; restricted-use data ; confidential data ; sensitive data

Abstract

More and more studies are collecting detailed individual information and respondent histories. These developments have increased the risks that subjects can be identified through deductive disclosure. ICPSR, which is the world's largest repository of social science data, has been active in developing procedures for evaluating and safely sharing data that pose disclosure risks. Although most data at ICPSR are available without restrictions, a growing number of studies are only available under a data use agreement. We will describe key aspects of ICPSR processes including disclosure review, data use agreements, security plans and frontiers for providing access to these types of data as well as the legal and institutional frameworks governing access to restricted-use data. The presentation will emphasize areas that are most problematic (e.g. data protection plans) and new technologies, such as virtual analysis systems.