It has been said by persons associated with the Internet and by more than one distinguished jurist that the principal issue of the 21st Century will be "privacy." It is difficult to be completely certain about the future, but there are clear signs that for most Americans technology and population density are forces eroding the foundations of traditional personal privacy. Having said this, it is important to realize that most Americans view this will some alarm and reservation.
Of the various ways that personal and private research information can leak into the public, the one which is most amenable to control is the researcher. IRB's ask that researchers design their research to inhibit breaches of confidentiality and anonymity and to maintain personal vigilance against accidental disclosures. While it is impossible to keep research subjects from recognizing one another on the street, if they have met in the research environment, it is not impossible to work with subjects individually in many cases. This prevents or moots the "recognition disclosure."
It should be apparent to researchers that human subjects may have agendas of their own which lead them to seek out other participants for social engagement. It may be necessary in some kinds of research to include statements regarding the respect for other research subjects' privacy in the informed consent document.
Clearly the potentially most damaging form of breach is by the researcher. As alluded to above, some breaches are the result of inadequate research design, while others are the result of inadequacies in records management. The single most important thing a researcher can do to avoid problems in this area is to maintain the highest levels of professional behavior with research assistants and research subjects.
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