Certificates of Confidentiality: Legal Counsels' Experiences With and Perspectives on Legal Demands for Research Data
Publication Title
Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2012
Abstract
The Certificate of Confidentiality (Certificate) is an important tool for protecting identifiable, sensitive human subjects research data in the United States. However, little is known about the Certificate’s effectiveness in protecting identifiable data. We interviewed 24 legal counsel representing U.S. research institutions about their experiences with legal demands for research data. Our respondents reported few, if any, legal demands over the course of their tenure, but two- thirds had experience with legal demands for data protected by a Certificate. They reported such demands often were resolved without disclosure of identifiable research data, typically without court intervention. While our respondents reported similar success protecting identifiable data in court, they often did not rely on the Certificate to do so.
Recommended Citation
Leslie E. Wolf, Lauren A. Dame, Mayank J. Patel, Brett A. Williams, Jeffrey A. Austin, & Laura M. Beskow, Certificates of Confidentiality: Legal Counsels' Experiences With and Perspectives on Legal Demands for Research Data, J. Emp. Rsch. Hum. Rsch. Ethics, Oct. 2012, at 1.
Institutional Repository Citation
Leslie E. Wolf, Lauren A. Dame, Mayank J. Patel, Brett A. Williams, Jeffrey A. Austin & Laura M. Beskow,
Certificates of Confidentiality: Legal Counsels' Experiences With and Perspectives on Legal Demands for Research Data,
Faculty Publications By Year
295
(2012)
https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/faculty_pub/295
DOI
10.1525/jer.2012.7.4.1
Volume
7
Issue
4
First Page
1
Last Page
9
Comments
External Links
Web