Developing and Validating a Novel Anonymous Method for Matching Longitudinal School-Based Data |
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Authors: | Jon Agley David Tidd Mikyoung Jun Lori Eldridge Yunyu Xiao Steve Sussman Wasantha Jayawardene Daniel Agley Ruth Gassman Stephanie L Dickinson |
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Institution: | 1.Prevention Insights, Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health Bloomington, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA;2.Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, NY, USA;3.Departments of Preventive Medicine and Psychology, and School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;4.Biostatistics Consulting Center, School of Public Health Bloomington, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA |
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Abstract: | Prospective longitudinal data collection is an important way for researchers and evaluators to assess change. In school-based settings, for low-risk and/or likely-beneficial interventions or surveys, data quality and ethical standards are both arguably stronger when using a waiver of parental consent—but doing so often requires the use of anonymous data collection methods. The standard solution to this problem has been the use of a self-generated identification code. However, such codes often incorporate personalized elements (e.g., birth month, middle initial) that, even when meeting the technical standard for anonymity, may raise concerns among both youth participants and their parents, potentially altering willingness to participate, response quality, or generating outrage. There may be value, therefore, in developing a self-generated identification code and matching approach that not only is technically anonymous but also appears anonymous to a research-naive individual. This article provides a proof of concept for a novel matching approach for school-based longitudinal data collection that potentially accomplishes this goal. |
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Keywords: | longitudinal data matching SGIC self-generated identification code anonymous methodology |
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