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Difference between Anonymity and Confidentiality
Humans go through different stages in their personal and professional lives during which they undergo situations or experiences after which privacy and information security becomes a vital requirement for them. For example, a person approaching someone from the medical profession would much appreciate his medical data remain protected from others so that he/she doesn’t face discrimination at home or work.
Similarly, a company tasked with conducting surveys and running research activities is obliged to maintain strong anonymity and confidentiality measures in regard to their survey pool. In some sectors-- such as medicine, religion, and politics, to mention a few—many participants deciding to participate in studies, experiments, or public outreach initiatives may choose to remain anonymous for various reasons.
Confidentiality, anonymity, and other forms of privacy protection can help with this concern. However, before we move on, there’s a need to know the difference between these two terms, “confidentiality” and “anonymity”, because these two are some of the most widely confused terms in the world of data privacy. As a student or user of data privacy, it’s important for readers to build a clear understanding of difference between these two terms before you participate in any such surveys or employ such services.
What is Anonymity?
This is a situation in which the researchers do not collect personally identifying information about the participants. When the statistics are aggregated, they should not include any personal information that may be used to reveal anyone's identity. Although a person's age is not a unique identifier on its own, it may be combined with other information to help pinpoint their location and identify the sort of research they participated in.
What is Confidentiality?
Confidentiality occurs when the collected data is kept secret from anybody other than the researchers or investigators who gathered it. Data are not supplied in a form that would permit respondents to be recognized, and unique identifiers are not made public. Data such as names, ages, addresses, and phone numbers can be collected from participants. Therefore, the researcher should take measures to protect the confidentiality of the material, including the use of passwords and encryption, as well as the secure locking of any physical copies.
Differences − Anonymity and Confidentiality
Both of these concepts are extremely significant in research and data collecting. The following table highlights how Anonymity is different from Confidentiality −
| Characteristics | Anonymity | Confidentiality |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The term "anonymity" is used to describe situations in which participants' names, addresses, phone numbers, identification numbers, emails, images, and other personally identifying characteristics are not collected by the researchers. | "Confidentiality" describes a circumstance in which the collected data is kept secret from anybody other than the researchers and investigators involved in the study. |
| Participants identity | Researchers maintain participant anonymity if they do not collect any information that might be used to identify them, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, identification numbers, email addresses, photographs, or any other information that may be used to identify them. | Researchers and investigators are the only people who are privy to the information gathered from participants in a covert study. In addition, the information is not made public or presented in a way that may be used to track down the individuals who provided their responses. |
| Type of research studies | Identity concealment is standard procedure in quantitative research. | The notion of confidentiality is often used in both qualitative and quantitative research. |
| Common use | The anonymity feature is widely utilized in a variety of research settings, including interviews, content analysis, and online surveys. | Confidentiality is commonly preserved when carrying out public activities, including conducting surveys, interviews, medical research, or even just talking to the general public. |
Conclusion
Researchers must ensure that participants understand the importance of maintaining their anonymity and the confidentiality of their data. When participants are assured of their anonymity, researchers do not record any information that may be used to identify them, including their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or other identifying characteristics.
The term "confidentiality" is used to describe when the obtained data is shielded from view by any other parties other than the researchers who gathered it. Separate from the idea of anonymity is the idea of confidentiality.
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