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Protecting and Accessing Data from the Survey of Earned Doctorates A Workshop Summary (2010) / Chapter Skim
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2 Context for the Protection of Confidential Data
Pages 7-14

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From page 7...
... NSF LEGISLATION AND PRACTICE Workshop presenter Stephen Cohen (National Science Foundation) began by saying that the SRS is both a part of the National Science Foundation and one of the major agencies in the federal statistical system.
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From page 8...
... The confidentiality pledge statement on the survey forms assures potential respondents that their answers will not be disclosed to the public in identifiable form and specifically refers to the NSF act and the Privacy Act. The reasons for NSF's concern for the confidentiality of survey responses, Cohen stated, are based on these legal dictates, as well as on practical concerns that confront all statistical agencies that collect data from the public.
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From page 9...
... Tables reporting counts of doctorate recipients by race/ethnicity and by field of degree are particularly likely to yield data cells with small counts, because relatively few doctoral degrees may be awarded in a single year in a given field or relatively few doctoral degrees may be awarded to members of a particular demographic group in a year. There is a perceived danger that doctorate recipients are especially vulnerable to statistical disclosure because a number of other sources of information about them could be linked to the published data that would permit their identification.
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From page 10...
... and em ployees of private organizations, to have access, for statistical or research purposes only, to information collected pursuant to section that information is used exclusively for statistical purposes, and, by doing so, strengthen and foster public trust in pledges of confidentiality. Harriskojetin described the benefits of CIPSEA, including the application of uniform protection across agencies, coverage of all data collected for statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality, strong penalties for disclosure ($250,000 fine and/or 5 years in prison)
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From page 11...
... It is important to define statistical purpose, because CIPSEA protection applies only to information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes.3 Statistical purpose includes the description, estimation, or analysis of characteristics of groups, without identifying the This provision varies somewhat from the provisions in the National Science Founda 3 tion Act of 1950 as amended, in that the NSF act applies to information collected for both statistical and research purposes.
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From page 12...
... These include Statistical Policy Working Paper 22 and the recently issued American Statistical Association statement, "Data Access and Personal Privacy: Appropriate Measures of Disclosure Control."4 Alvan zarate, former confidentiality officer for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) , described these sources and outlined principles traditionally used by federal statistical agencies to protect tabular data from disclosure.
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From page 13...
... zarate reported that in developing Working Paper 22, the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology recommended creation of a group to communicate and share information on confidentiality, statistical disclosure limitation, and restricted access. The Confidentiality and Data Access Committee consists of representatives of federal statistical agencies who deal with confidentiality, data access, and disclosure review techniques.
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From page 14...
... The same powerful and sophisticated electronic technologies that have made data readily accessible to the public "pose a distinct threat -- in perception if not in reality -- to privacy, as well as a potential for inflicting great harm on persons." zarate shared several illustrations of the risk of disclosure and techniques for overcoming those risks based on his experiences at NCHS. Like the NSF act of 1950, as amended, the Public Health Service Act of 1974 contains language specifying that no identifiable information may be used for any purpose other than for which it was provided, nor may be it released to any party not agreed to by the supplier (Section 308(d)
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Key Terms

  • federal statistical
  • nsf act
  • statistical purposes
  • confidential information
  • tabular data

  • disclosure limitation
  • information collected
  • earned doctorates
  • statistical data
  • statistical disclosure

  • statistical policy
  • statistical efficiency
  • disclosure review
  • public disclosure
  • published data

  • data protection
  • disclosure control
  • data cells
  • data access
  • restricted access

  • privacy act
  • confidentiality officer
  • efficiency act
  • foundation act
  • research purposes

  • collected pursuant
  • doctorate recipients
  • doctoral degrees
  • statistical information
  • requires statistical


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