Methodological aspects of privacy measurement in surveys |
|
| Coordinator 1 | Mr Jošt Bartol (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Andraž Petrovčič (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Vasja Vehovar (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana) |
Surveys are an indispensable tool for understanding pressing societal issues. One such contemporary problem relates to peoples’ privacy, as digital technologies continuously challenge established privacy norms. However, surveys can bring valid and actionable insights only when they are carried out in a methodologically sound manner. While this is true for surveys on privacy as much as for surveys on any other topic, there is little research on the development, validation, and deployment of surveys to measure privacy-related perceptions and behaviors. Advancing this line of research is important because perceptions of privacy are highly contextual and specific, with even subtle situational variations possibly leading to different evaluations of privacy and hence answers to corresponding questions. Moreover, personal and cultural factors can determine how people understand and act upon these situational cues. Research endeavors addressing these topics are likely to improve our understanding of participants’ response processes to privacy-related survey questions, enable deeper and more granular insights into privacy issues, and, in turn, provide a more robust basis for policymaking.
This session aims to facilitate discussion on how the conditions that govern the evaluation of privacy among individuals link to and influence their responses in surveys on privacy. To this end, submissions that deal with the following aspects are invited:
• Assessment of the impact of different survey modes on participants’ responses to survey questions about their privacy perceptions and behaviors.
• Examination of the role of contextual or situational cues, including potential order and framing effects, in responding to privacy-related survey questions.
• Investigation of cross-group (e.g., age, gender) and cross-cultural validity of privacy measures.
• Theoretical or empirical examination of respondents’ psychological processes that govern their responses to survey questions about privacy.
• Validation of survey scales for assessing privacy-related perceptions and behaviors in emerging digital contexts.