Re: Anonymous questionnaires

You wrote to my question regarding anonymous questionnaires:

>I don't know if the researchers are willing to change their methodology just
>for you, but it's easy to meet all the requirements you listed:  Put your
>questionnaire answers in a blank envelope and seal it.  Enclose the blank
>envelope in another envelope.  The outer envelope has your name and various
>other information, i.e., everything needed to create the audit trail.  When
>it arrives, the researchers (whom you must trust) open the outer envelope,
>remove the blank inner envelope, and toss it irretrievably into a pile with
>all the other blank inner envelopes.  There would be no record of which
>questionnaire went with which respondent, but there would be a clear record
>of who's responded and who hasn't.

This system would not provide

>  1. Correlate my answers to the answers of my partner.


-- Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com>  PGP public key by finger

> 
> You wrote to my question regarding anonymous questionnaires:
> 
> >I don't know if the researchers are willing to change their methodology just
> >for you, but it's easy to meet all the requirements you listed:  Put your
...
> This system would not provide
> 
> >  1. Correlate my answers to the answers of my partner.
> 
> 
> -- Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com>  PGP public key by finger

Easy: you and your partner each write the same large random number on the
inner envelopes...

Even if there were collisions, it wouldn't affect statistical results.

Multiple partners could be handled this way.
An auditing agency could be hired to do the envelope opening.

An electronic version of this should be easy, but the envelope
scenario is a good description of the idea.  (To the non-cryps.)
(Funny recycling of crypts gang name...  Who are the Bloods? Gov?)

sdw
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