Articles

Computers, Privacy, and Research Access to Confidential Information

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Abstract

The advent of computer technology and the heightened public concern with personal privacy in recent decades coincide with several other developments that make the issue of computers and privacy an important yet complex one for archivists to address. Changes in government policies, especially the expansion of state supported benefits, mandated the collection of more personal information and expanded the quantity of documentation available on a wider range of citizens. At the same time, the focus of historical research has broadened to include an interest in the composition, attitudes and behavior of non-elites (precisely the same population on which government agencies compile and maintain extensive documentation). Other academic fields, such as sociology and public policy, rely extensively on theories of behavioralism and on quantitative methodology which necessitate access to data on the characteristics and behavior of the general population.

How to Cite:

Hedstrom, M. L., (1981) “Computers, Privacy, and Research Access to Confidential Information”, Archival Issues 6(1), 5-18. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.8103