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Data and Society 9-12 / Week 03 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 03 · Ask First: Consent and Privacy

Wednesday

Count Lab: The privacy pass
// What the crew never collects, and how it asks before it collects
⏱ about 20 min

Wednesday: Count Lab: The Privacy Pass

The crew spreads the six remaining questions across the big workbench. Comet has a fresh stack of paper sheets.

"No names," she says. "So how do we tell the sheets apart?"

Wren writes M01 on the corner of the top sheet. "What do you notice? A code tells the sheets apart without telling anyone who answered."

"And before anyone answers, we ask," Wren adds. "Out loud, every time."

Nova hovers above the stack. "Would you like a hint?" she asks. "Write the words you will say first, so every member hears the same thing."

Comet picks up a pencil and slides one to you. "Data analyst, let's write it together."

Your mission

Today you finish the privacy pass on Commons Count. You plan the IDs, write the consent script and check the survey against a checklist.

Names are PII. Scattered bits of personal data can be combined to learn about one person, so the crew keeps names off the sheets.

Information put online can be used in ways nobody intended, and it is hard to delete. The sheets stay on paper at the Commons.

  • Paper and a pencil
  • Your copy of Comet's draft from Monday
  • The consent script and checklist below
  1. Cross out the name and phone number questions on your draft, if you have not already.
  2. At the top of a fresh sheet, write ID in the first column and Q1 to Q6 in the next six columns.
  3. Plan the IDs: the first member to answer is M01, the next is M02, and so on.
  4. Read the crew's consent script below. Rewrite it in your own words, keeping all five parts.
  5. Check your survey against the privacy checklist. Fix anything that fails.
  6. Practice reading your consent script out loud once, as if a member were in front of you.

The crew's consent script

PartWhat the crew says
Who we areHello. We are the crew running Commons Count for the council.
Why we askWe are asking members what the Commons should add next.
Skip any questionYou can skip any question you like.
Stop at any timeYou can stop at any time, and that is fine.
Ask for a yesWe will not write your name. Is it okay to ask you six short questions?
PUT THE CONSENT SCRIPT IN ORDER
  • ?Say that they can stop at any time.
  • ?Say that any question can be skipped.
  • ?Say why you are asking.
  • ?Say who you are.
  • ?Ask if it is okay, and wait for a clear yes.
WHY THIS EXERCISEWhen a person hears everything first, their yes means something.

Privacy checklist

CheckPass?
No question asks for a name, phone number or other PII.
Every question helps answer the council's question.
Each sheet has an ID such as M01, never a name.
The consent script says every question can be skipped.
The consent script says the member can stop at any time.
The sheets stay on paper at the Commons, not online.
CHECK THE PLAN
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Predict first: if 40 members answer, what is the last ID the crew writes?
A member says yes but skips question 4. What does the crew do?
Why does the crew write M07 instead of a name?
Why do the sheets stay on paper at the Commons?
On paper, draw the top of the clean data sheet: an ID column and six question columns. Fill in IDs M01 to M05 down the first column.

Excellent lab work. Tomorrow you see how small pieces of data can add up to one person.

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