Considerations for Developing Disclosure Avoidance Systems for Longitudinal Survey Data

This article summarizes the findings of a recent National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Panel and its report, A Roadmap for Disclosure Avoidance in the Survey of Income and Program Participation. While this report focused on the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), the issues discussed below apply to challenges that all, if not most, longitudinal studies face in balancing protection of the confidentiality of information provided by respondents to such study with the usability of the data released by researchers, policy makers and the genera public. The article provides a background on the structure and unique features of the SIPP, disclosure risks of releasing its data products, and strategies that have been used to protect confidentiality. It summarizes the findings of this Panel that are relevant for the dissemination of data not only from the SIPP but also from many other longitudinal studies.