Week 4 - Anonymisation Flashcards
1
Q
How could a person be identified?
A
Direct identifiers: name, address, postcode etc
Indirect: occupation, geography, unique or exceptional values
2
Q
List the key points for anonymisation
A
- Reason/Purpose for anonymising
- Never disclose personal data without consent
- Reasonable level of anonymity
- Maintain meaningful info
- Replace rather than remove
- Re-users of the data have the same obligation to not disclose confidential info
3
Q
How to anonymise quantitative data?
A
- Remove direct ids
- Reduce precision
- Restrict upper/lower ranges to hide outliers
- Combine variables
4
Q
How to anonymise qualitative data?
A
- Don’t collect revealing data unless necessary.
- Edit at time of transcription except longitudinal studies (when complete)
- Avoid blanking out, use pseudonyms
- Avoid over-anonymising
- COnsistency
- Keep anonymisation log - keep separately.
- Phrases can identify certain backgrounds so be aware
5
Q
How to anonymise video and images?
A
- Don’t just black out eyes
- Tattoos or hair may identify
- Remove location identifiers
6
Q
Types of Access Control
A
- Open Access
- Metadata only – contact details for requesting data reuse, End User Licence
- Dark Archive
- Embargo for given time period
7
Q
Can data ever be totally anonymous?
A
No, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/23/anonymised-data-never-be-anonymous-enough-study-finds
