Privacy and Confidentiality in On-line Surveys: How can you be sure?
A major concern of student service deans and directors who may want to survey their students is ensuring students’ privacy and the confidentiality of student responses. Such concerns are understandable, especially given the well-publicized instances of breaches of even highly classified information, and the possible, if rare, legal ramifications. Students too, have such concerns and, if they are not fully convinced that their identifying information is secure and that their responses will be kept confidential, they may hedge responses or even refuse to participate in the survey.
The surveyor, in this case UDS, will also be very concerned, not only that privacy, confidentiality, and security are achieved, but also in convincing students, deans, and directors that it will be achieved, because a failure to do either will threaten the validity of the survey results. In short, it is in the best interest of all parties to ensure privacy of the respondents and the confidentiality and security of their responses. There is little that is ambiguous about this issue: confidentiality and privacy of survey responses are respondents’ right and UDS’s responsibility. One we take very seriously.