Protecting Research Subjects and Unintended Consequences: The Effect of Guarantees of Confidentiality

There is significant concern among researchers and governmentadministrators that individuals who serve as research subjectsbe protected from risks associated with empirical inquiry. Surveyresearchers frequently administer guarantees of confidentialityand anonymity in an effort to minimize subjects1 psychologicalharm and to increase the validity ofdata. This study tests theeffect of guarantees of confidentiality and anonymity on (I)the evaluation apprehension of juvenile offenders who providedself-reports of past behavior soon after arrest, (2) their responserates to individual interview items, and (3) the quality ofthe subjects' responses. Findings are reported and implicationsfor survey researchers are discussed.