Protecting the confidentiality of information people supply is essential to retaining public trust and confidence in the system. Without cooperation, willingness to provide data can be too low and threaten its accuracy or the usefulness.
To ensure data is safe you need:
- Clear lines of responsibility and accountability to control access to stored unit record (micro) data
- A system for managing access to unit record data so only authorised people have access
- Storage of unit record data in secure areas (locked rooms for physical data, password protected databases/systems for electronic data)
- Data management for archiving and disposing of data that’s no longer needed
- Clear processes and guidance for staff contacting respondents about information so confidentiality of data is maintained (e.g. not divulging information about one person to another).
Guidance
Principles and Protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics (New Zealand’s most important official statistics):
- Principle 7 – Protecting respondent information
- Protocol 4 – Confidentiality, privacy and security
- Element 2 – Awareness of obligations
- Element 6 – Security
