What Are the Potential Risks? (cont.)

Researchers who gather potentially damaging information are obligated to take all reasonable measures to provide a secure environment for data and to assure that it does not fall into the wrong hands. The regulations refer to serious harm.

• Most social science data, even if revealed, would not put subjects at serious risks. The mere fact that data might be disclosed does not mean that subjects will be seriously harmed; the critical question is whether disclosure would be potentially damaging.

Most social and behavioral scientists, however, subscribe to a strict standard involving confidentiality:

• Confidentiality should be maintained, unless the respondent explicitly agrees to disclosure. The release of any information that can be linked to an individual, potentially damaging or not, should be agreed upon by both parties and documented in the research file.
• Delayed harm: it is conceivable that as a result of participating in a social/behavioral study a subject may experience some longer term psychological reaction, such as depression. It is also conceivable that material covered in the course of an interview may lead subjects to re-examine past experiences in a different light, to reevaluate themselves in less than positive terms, or to seek additional information that may lead to other difficulties. This process may take days or even weeks. Researchers should consider what the probability of delayed harm is and what they might do to ameliorate it should it occur. (For example, counseling referral information can be made available for participants.)