Putting people on the map: protecting confidentiality with linked social-spatial data

176 Pages·2007·2.25 MB·English

by  National Research Council, Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising from the Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data

PUTTING
PEOPLE
ON THE MAP
PROTECTING
CONFIDENTIALITY
WITH LINKED
SOCIAL-SPATIAL DATA
Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising from the Integration of
Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data
Myron P. Gutmann and Paul C. Stern, editors
Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
w w w . n a p . e d u
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this, report was approved by the Governing Board
of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medi-
cine. The members of the committee responsible For the report were chosen For their special
competences and with regard For appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract/Grant Nos. BCS-0431863, NNH04PR35P, and N'01-
OD-4-2139, TO 131 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Science
Foundation, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Depart
ment of Health and Human Services, respectively. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author (s) and do not necessar-
ily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support For the project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data
Pulling people on the map : protecting confidentiality with linked social-spatial data / Panel on
Confidentiality Issues Arising from the Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying
Data, Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education.
p. cm.
"National Research Council."
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-309-10414-2 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-309-66831-6 (pdf) 1. Social sciences-
Research—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Confidential communications—Social surveys. 3.
Spatial analysis (Statistics) 4. Privacy, Right of—United States. 5. Public records—Access
control—United States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Confidentiality Issues
Arising from the Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self Identifying Data. IT. Title: Protect
ing confidentiality with linked social-spatial data.
H62.P953 2007
174'.93—dc22
2006103005
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth
Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; [phone] or [phone] (in
the Washington metropolitan area); Internet http://www.nap.edu.
Printed in the United States of America.
Cover image: Tallinn, the capital city and main seaport of Estonia, is located on Estonia's
north coast to the Gulf of Finland. Acquired on June 18, 2006, this scene covers an area of
35.6 x 37.5 km and is located at 59.5 degrees north latitude and 25 degrees cast longitude.
The red dots are arbitrarily selected and do not correspond to the locations of actual research
participants.
Cover credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAO'JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2007). Putting People on the Map: Protect-
ing Confidentiality with Linked Social-Spatial Data. Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising
from the Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data. M.P. Gutmann and P.C.
Stern, Eds. Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change. Division of Behavioral
and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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PANEL ON CONFIDENTIALITY ISSUES ARISING F R O M
T H E I N T E G R A T I O N OF REMOTELY SENSED A N D
SELF-IDENTIFYING DATA
M Y R O N P. G U T M A N N , Chair, Inter-university Consort ium For
Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
M A R C P. A R M S T R O N G , Department of Geography, University of Iowa
D E B O R A H BALK, Schoof of Public Affairs, Baruch College, City
University of New York
KATHLEEN O'NEILL G R E E N , Alta Vista Company, Berkeley, CA
FELICE J. LEVINE, American Educational Research Association,
Washington, DC
HARLAN J. ONSRLID, Department of Spatial information Science and
Engineering, University of Maine
J E R O M E P. REITER, Institute of Statistics and Decision Science, Duke
University
R O N A L D R. RINDFUSS, Depar tment of Sociology and the Carolina
Population Center, University of Nor th Carolina at Chapel Hill
PAUL C. STERN, Study DirecFor
LINDA DEPUGH, Administrative Assistant
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Preface
The main themes of this report—protecting the confidentiality of hu-
man research subjects in social science research and simultaneously ensur-
ing that research data are used as widely and as frequently as possible—
have been the subject of a number of Nat ional Research Council (NRC)
publications over a considerable span of time. Beginning with Sharing Re-
search Data (1985) and continuing with Private Lives and Public Policies:
Confidentiality and Accessibility of Government Statistics (1993), Protect-
ing Participants and tacilitating Behavioral and Social Science Research
(2003), and, most recently, Expanding Access to Research Dalai Reconcil-
ing Risks and Opportunities (2005), a series of reports has emphasized the
value of expanded sharing and use of social science data while simulta-
neously protecting the interests (and especially the confidentiality) of hu-
man research subjects. This report draws from those earlier evaluations
and analyzes the role played by a type of data infrequently discussed in
those publications: data that explicitly identify a location associated with a
research subject—home, work, school, docFor's office, or somewhere else.
The increased availability of spatial information, the increasing knowl-
edge of how to perForm sophisticated scientific analyses using it, and the
growth of a body of science that makes use of these data and analyses to
study important social, economic, environmental, spatial, and public health
problems has led to an increase in the collection and preservation of these
data and in the linkage of spatial and nonspatial information about the
same research subjects. At the same time, questions have been raised about
the best ways to increase the use of such data while preserving respondent
vii
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viii PREFACE
confidentiality. The latter is important because analyses that make the most
productive use of spatial information often require great accuracy and
precision in that information: For example, if you w a n t to k n o w the route
someone takes from home to the docFor's office, imprecision in one or the
other degrades the analysis. Yet precise information about spatial location
is almost perfectly identifying: if one knows where someone lives, one is
likely to know the person's identity. That tension between the need For
precision and the need to protect the confidentiality of research subjects is
what motivates this study.
In this report, the Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising from the
Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data recommends ways
to find a successful balance between needs For precision and the protection
of confidentiality. It considers both institutional and technical solutions
and draws conclusions about each. In general, we find that institutional
solutions are the most promising For the short term, though they need
further development, while technical solutions have promise in the longer
term and require further research.
As the report explains, the members of the panel chose in one signifi-
cant way to broaden their mandate beyond the explicit target of "remotely
sensed and self-identifying" data because working within the limitation of
remotely sensed data restricted the problem domain in a way at odds with
the world. From the perspective of confidentiality protection, when social
science research data are linked with spatial information, it does not matter
whether the geospatial locations are derived from remotely sensed imagery
or from other means of determining location (GPS devices, For example).
The issues raised by linking remotely sensed information are a special case
within the larger category of spatially precise and accurate information.
For that reason, the study considers all Forms of spatial information as part
of its mandate.
In framing the response to its charge, the panel drew heavily on existing
reports, on published material, and on best practices in the field. The panel
also commissioned papers and reports from experts; they were presented at
a workshop held in December 2005 at the National Academies. T w o of the
papers arc included as appendixes to this report . Biographical sketches of
panel members and staff are also included at the end of this report.
This report could not have been completed successfully wi thout the
hard work of members of the N R C staff. Paul Stern served as study direcFor
For the panel and brought his usual skills in planning, organization, consen-
sus building, and writing. Moreover, from a panel chair 's perspective, he is
a superb partner and collaboraFor. We also thank the members of the
Committee on the H u m a n Dimensions of Global Change, under whose
auspices the panel was constituted, For their support .
The panel members and I also thank the part icipants in the Workshop
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PREFACE ix
on Confidentiality Issues in Linking Geographically Explicit and
Self-identifying Data . Their papers and presentations provided the mem-
bers of the panel wi th a valuable body of information and interpretations,
which contr ibuted substantially to our Formulation of both problems and
solutions.
Rebecca Clark of the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of
the Nat ional Institute of Child Heal th and H u m a n Development has been a
tireless supporter of many of the intellectual issues addressed by this study,
both those that encourage the sharing of data and those that encourage the
protection of confidentiality; and it was in good part her energy that led to
the study's initiation. We gratefully acknowledge her efForts and the finan-
cial support of the Nat ional Institute of Child Heal th and H u m a n Develop-
ment, a part of the National Institutes of Health of the Department of
Health and H u m a n Services; the Nat ional Science Foundat ion; and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Finally, I thank the members of the panel For their hard work and active
engagement in the process of preparing this report . They are a lively group
with a wide diversity of backgrounds and approaches to the use of spatial
and social science data , who all brought a genuine concern For enhancing
research, sharing data , and protecting confidentiality to the task that con-
fronted us. National Research Council panels are expected to be interdisci-
plinary: that 's the goal of constituting them to prepare reports such as this
one. This particular panel was made up of individuals w h o were themselves
interdisciplinary, and the breadth of their individual and group expertise
made the process of completing the report especially rewarding. The panel's
discussions aimed to find balance and consensus among these diverse indi-
viduals and their diverse perspectives. Writing the report was a group efFort
to which everyone contributed. I'm grateful For the hard work.
This report has been reviewed in draft Form by individuals chosen For
their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with proce-
dures approved by the Report Review Committee of the Nat ional Research
Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and
critical comments that assist the institution in making the published report
as sound as possible and ensure that the report meets institutional stan-
dards For objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The
review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the
integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals For their participation in the review
of the report: Joe S. Cecil, Division of Research, Federal Judicial Center,
Washington, D C ; Lawrence H. Cox, Research and Methodology, National
Center For Health Statistics, Centers For Disease C o n t r o f and Prevention,
Hyattsville, M D ; Glenn D. Deane, Department of Sociology, University at
Albany; Jerome E. Dobson, Department of Geography, University of Kan-
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X PREFACE
sas; George T. Duncan, Heinz Schoof of Public Policy and Management ,
Carnegie Mellon University; Lawrence Gostin, Research and Academic
Programs, Georgerown University Law Center, Washington, D C ; Joseph
C. Kvedar, DirecFor's Office, Partners Telemedicine, Boston, MA; W.
Christopher Lenhardt , Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, Co-
lumbia University, Palisades, N Y ; Jean-Bernard Minster , Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, University of CaliFornia, La Jolla, CA; and Gerard
Rushton, Department of Geography, The University of Iowa.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive com-
ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or
recommendat ions nor did they see the final draft of the report beFore its
release. The review of this repor t was overseen by Richard Kulka, Abt
Associates, Durham, N C . Appointed by the National Research Council ,
he was responsible For making certain tha t an independent examinat ion of
this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and
that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility For the
final content of this report rests entirely with the author ing panel and the
institutions.
Myron P. Gutmann, Chair
Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising from the
Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data
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