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Methods for Reducing Disclosure Risks When Sharing Data:
Overview of Technological Methods
Rather than
release data altered to protect confidentiality, data disseminators can
restrict who gets access to the
unaltered data. Secure
data
enclaves make data available only to approved individuals in tightly controlled
locations. Remote access allows researchers to access confidential data by connecting to a remote
computer, but the data cannot be saved on the researchers' machines. Remote execution allows researchers
to submit requests for output from statistical analyses to a remote computer, which runs the
analysis and reports results without ever letting the analyst see the data. Data
licensing makes data available only for those who agree to terms set by the
data provider. Licensed individuals generally can save the data on their own machines, although
typically under rules about further sharing. Excellent summaries of the pros and cons of
these
approaches are in the National Academy of Science's 2005 report, Expanding
Access to Research Data, and the Confidentiality and Data Access Committee's report on restricted data access.
Examples of these approaches are listed below.
1. Secure Data Enclaves
2. Remote Access
3. Licensing
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