Feedback is an essential tool for library services to improve their quality, relevance, and impact. However, collecting feedback can also pose some challenges, especially when it comes to ensuring anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents. In this article, you will learn some tips and strategies to make feedback anonymous and confidential, and why it matters for your library.
Anonymity and confidentiality are key principles of ethical research and evaluation. They mean that the identity of the respondents and their responses are not disclosed or linked to them, unless they consent otherwise. Anonymity and confidentiality can help you to protect the privacy and dignity of your users, as well as to encourage honest and candid feedback. They can also reduce the risk of bias, coercion, or retaliation that might affect the validity and reliability of your data.
Anonymity and confidentiality in research are vital to uphold ethical standards, ensuring participants' rights are protected. By assuring individuals that their identities will remain undisclosed, researchers encourage honest and accurate responses, minimizing risks associated with participation. This commitment to privacy fosters trust between researchers and participants, promoting broader and more diverse study involvement. Additionally, adherence to legal and regulatory requirements regarding anonymity and confidentiality enhances the credibility and integrity of the research process.
It is necesitated that anonymity and confidentiality be maintained when submitting feedback of any type. Not only do you open yourself to retribution and other consequences, you place information publicly available for any scraper to harvest. As an investigator I find all kinds of hidden gems in username searches from feedback left online. It doesn't take much with a targeted search using Google dorks. Most people don't realize how easy it is to trace such things. Added upon what I have listed above remember the data harvesting done by most apps and sold to aggregators who offer subscription or even free data to law enforcement and commercial entities.
When making feedback anonymous and confidential, it’s important to choose the right methods and tools for data collection. Depending on your purpose, scope, and resources, you could use surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, or suggestion boxes. To protect the anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents and their responses, consider using online platforms or software that don’t collect personal or identifying information. You could also use anonymous phone numbers or email addresses that don’t reveal the identity of the respondents or researchers. Codes or pseudonyms can also replace names or other identifiers of the respondents. Finally, secure storage and encryption systems can prevent unauthorized access or leakage of data.
Use a VPN. Make sure you are not leaving feedback through an app which you are logged in. Avoid Google products at all costs. Don't leave feedback on any website. Click the contact us button and hopefully obtain a customer service email address. Email the obtained address using guerilla mail or another anonymous email service while using a VPN or TOR. This doesn't guarantee anonymity but it makes it a lot more work to trace your browser fingerprint.
To make feedback anonymous and confidential, it's important to communicate clearly and transparently with your users about the purpose, process, and outcomes of your feedback collection. You should inform them of the voluntary nature of their participation, the measures and safeguards taken to ensure their anonymity and confidentiality, the ways you will use their feedback, and the benefits and impacts it will have for your library services. You can communicate this information through consent forms, information sheets, posters, flyers, emails, or verbal explanations. Additionally, provide contact details or resources where users can ask questions, raise concerns, or access support if needed.
The final step to make feedback anonymous and confidential is to handle it ethically and responsibly throughout the data collection, analysis, and reporting stages. This means respecting the rights and interests of your users, as well as the integrity and quality of your data, following the ethical guidelines and standards of your library, institution, or profession. To ensure that you are doing this properly, you should only collect data relevant to your feedback purpose and questions. Furthermore, do not attempt to identify or contact respondents without their consent or request. Additionally, do not share or disclose the data or responses with anyone who is not authorized or involved in your feedback project unless you have a legal or ethical obligation to do so. Moreover, do not use the data or responses for any other purpose than the one that you have stated and agreed with your users. Furthermore, do not manipulate, falsify, or misrepresent the data or responses in your analysis or reporting. Finally, acknowledge and appreciate the contributions and feedback of your users and share the results and outcomes with them if possible.