Form 1 Privacy Concerns Questionnaire

Privacy Concern Questionnaire

1. Every 10 years, the Census Bureau collects information about people living in the United States. Before making any of this information available to the public, the Census Bureau carefully removes information that could be used to identify individuals (such as names and addresses). Although the Census Bureau makes every effort to protect your information, it may be possible (though very unlikely) for someone to link information you provide to the Census Bureau to your personal identity or address. There are two main ways this could happen; either your information could be stolen from the Census Bureau with your identifying details still connected to your responses (also known as a data breach or hacking) or someone could use the anonymous Census Bureau data that is available to the public to figure out your identity or some specific information about you (also known as re-identification).”

   1. Have you ever heard of information being stolen through hacking or a data breach? (Yes/No)

   2. (if yes) Has any information about you or someone you know been stolen through hacking or a data breach? (Yes/No)

   3. How worried are you about information you give to the Census Bureau being stolen through hacking or a data breach?

      1. Not at all worried, A little worried, Moderately worried, Very worried

   4. How likely do you think it is that information you give the Census Bureau will experience hacking or a data breach?

      1. Not at all likely, A little bit likely, Moderately likely, Very likely

   5. Have you ever heard of information about individuals being discovered through re-identification (that is, when someone uses anonymous data to figure out a person’s identity or other private information)? (Yes/No)

   6. (if yes) Has any information about you or someone you know been discovered through re-identification? (Yes/No)

   7. How worried are you about information you give to the Census Bureau being discovered through re-identification (i.e., someone figuring out information about you just from the summary data released to the public)?

      1. Not at all worried, A little worried, Moderately worried, Very worried

   8. How likely do you think it is that the information you give to the Census Bureau will experience re-identification?

      1. Not at all likely, A little bit likely, Moderately likely, Very likely

2. For the next set of questions, I want you to think only about risks that would occur if someone was able to figure out information about you or your household by using anonymous public datasets released by the Census Bureau (which we referred to as “re-identification” above). For these questions, please think about the information you reported on the Census Bureau questionnaire you completed earlier.

   1. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out your AGE? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out your AGE, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   2. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out your RACE AND ETHNICITY? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out your RACE AND ETHNICITY, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   3. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out the NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out the NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   4. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out the AGE(S) OF OTHERS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out the AGE(S) OF OTHERS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   5. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out the RACE AND ETHNICITY OF OTHERS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out the RACE AND ETHNICITY OF OTHERS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   6. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOURSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOURSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   7. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out your HOME OWNERSHIP OR RENTER STATUS? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out your HOME OWNERSHIP OR RENTER STATUS, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   8. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out your FULL NAME? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out your FULL NAME, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   9. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out the FULL NAME(S) OF OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? Y/N

      1. If someone was able to find out the FULL NAME(S) OF OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

         1. No negative effect

         2. Minor negative effect

         3. Moderate negative effect

         4. Severe negative effect

   10. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out SOME COMBINATION OF THE INFORMATION included in the Census Bureau questionnaire (but not all of the information)? Y/N

       1. If someone was able to find out SOME COMBINATION OF THE INFORMATION included in the Census Bureau questionnaire, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

          1. No negative effect

          2. Minor negative effect

          3. Moderate negative effect

          4. Severe negative effect

   11. Would it concern you if someone was able to find out ALL OF THE INFORMATION included in the Census Bureau questionnaire? Y/N

       1. If someone was able to find out the ALL OF THE INFORMATION included in the Census Bureau questionnaire, how much of a negative effect would it have on your life?

          1. No negative effect

          2. Minor negative effect

          3. Moderate negative effect

          4. Severe negative effect

3. How much do you trust the way that the Census Bureau protects people’s personal information? (4 points, Don’t trust at all, Trust a little bit, Trust moderately, Trust completely)

4. How important is the information the Census Bureau collects and makes available to the public? (4 points, Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

5. The census, the number of deaths in the U.S. by different diseases, the crime rate, and the unemployment rate are examples of federal statistics produced by federal statistical agencies that are part of the federal government. Have you ever used federal statistics for study or work? Y/N

6. Information collected on the 2020 Census will be used for a number of different purposes. In your opinion, how important do you think each of the following uses is?

   1. Determining the number of representatives in Congress that each state gets (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   2. Helping people in each community get certain benefits such as healthcare, school programs, day care, and job training (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   3. Helping the government plan for future improvements to schools, roads, fire and police stations (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   4. Finding out what changes have taken place in the size, location, and characteristics of the people in the US (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   5. Making anonymous data available to the public for personal use and research (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   6. Releasing individual census data to the public after 72 years for genealogical research (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   7. Monitoring compliance with anti-discrimination laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)

   8. Deciding each community’s share of $300 billion in federal funds for schools and other programs (Not at all important, A little important, Moderately important, Very important)