Data Quality and Data Confidentiality for Microdata: Implications and Strategies (2004)

Introduction:

National statistical agencies (and other organizations) must fulfill two nearly contradictory missions. On the one hand, they must extract and disseminate—to other agencies, the research community and the public—useful information derived from sample surveys and censuses. But they must also protect the confidentiality of the data and the privacy of data subjects. Protecting confidentiality may be mandated by law, prescribed by agency practices or promised to respondents. Often, confidentiality must be preserved in order to ensure the quality of the data: respondents do not answer truthfully if they believe that their privacy is threatened.