The council asks a favor. "Could you post all 40 rows of the data sheet on the board by the door?"
Comet already has the pins out. "The rows only have IDs, not names. That is safe, right?"
Wren points to one row. "A weekend visit, a paper form and a long note in Q6. What do you notice?"
Comet looks again. "Only two people answered on paper on a weekend. And Keeper Ines handed out the paper forms."
"So she might remember who wrote it," Wren says. "An ID is not enough if other facts point to one person."
Nova hovers by the board. "Would you like a hint?" she asks. "Share what the group said, not what each person said."
Comet puts the pins away. "Data analyst, help us choose what to post."
Scattered bits of personal data can be combined to learn about one person.
Information put online can be used in ways nobody intended, and it is hard to delete.
The Census Bureau keeps the data it collects confidential. It checks every statistic before release so that nothing could identify a person.
The crew can follow the same habit: release totals, then check that no box points to one member.
| Comet's draft table (made-up data from the Commons Count story) | Screen | Paper form | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Afternoon | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Evening | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Weekend | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 31 | 9 | 40 |
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Scattered bits of data can be combined to learn about one person. | ? |
| An ID number always keeps a person hidden. | ? |
| Information put online is easy to delete. | ? |
| Totals share what a group said without showing each row. | ? |
Careful work, data analyst. Tomorrow in Count Lab you will build the data story for the council.