Public Data and a Thriving Democracy: Opportunities and Responsibilities

Creating opportunity by taking responsibility: A call to action Statistical Literacy Legalities Policy reform

Statistics: It’s not just for analysts anymore  Data librarians and archivists need a big picture understanding of the implications of confidentiality edits for data quality  This is particularly issue for public-use files because many users are unaware of the implications of confidentiality edits for their analysis  At a minimum, potential users need to be informed when a dataset is modified to protect confidentiality Bring it out of the back of the codebook and into the standard metadata  Creating awareness among librarians helps create an informed constituency for useful data

Legalities: Let’s walk a mile... Constructive dialogue with data producers requires understanding of legal mandates and constraints on those producers Comprehensive reform is a long-term process and requires a long-term commitment Need to identify opportunities for policy and process reform that provide increased access in the near-term

Increased access in the near-term through increased user responsibility Shift burden for unethical use to data users,  i.e., create and enforce user penalties for unethical use,  e.g., intentional re-identification individual identities, release of data to unauthorized users  Contract law and copyright law may be viable mechanisms now

Tit for Tat: Balance increased user responsibility with increased access and improved quality Transparency It is in the interest of both users and producers to publicize criteria used to determine whether confidentiality edits are needed and which statistical techniques are applied  In accessible (plain) language Potential benefits:  Promote quality research (including independent research)  Improve public confidence in data confidentiality measures

Improved Quality: Different files for different users Create “Microdata Files for Research” Devote more resources into the development of web-based systems that edit/censor analytical results rather than microdata  e.g., user’s can create customized tables but cell values may be suppressed if n is too small (Continue to) produce data stripped of direct identifiers (but otherwise essentially unmodified) and make available in research data centers

Improved Access: Ensure that all users have cheap access  Public-use data freely available on the web  Microdata Files for Research available at low cost to research institutions e.g., Canadian Data Liberation Initiative  Publicly fund intermediary/advocate to help researchers identify funding to defray costs of work in research data centers e.g., Netherlands (NWO)?

Pushing the process forward: APDU’s Task Force on Confidentiality Statistical Literacy – Primer Legalities - White Papers Policy reform  Facilitate dialogue by creating venues for open discussion between users and producers (e.g., IASSIST, APDU, FCSM)  Encourage cross-country comparisons of legal context, data quality, and accessibility to expand opportunities and promote imagination  Insist on transparency and dialogue