Anonymity

Research

No one, including the researcher, can link data back to an individual — distinct from confidentiality, where identity is known but protected.

Sources

1. eCFR — 45 CFR 46.102, Definitions (the Common Rule) ecfr.gov accessed 22 September 2026

The distinction this entry draws has a regulatory anchor in the US Common Rule. Its definitions, at 45 CFR 46.102, treat “Identifiable private information” as “Private information for which the identity of the subject is or may readily be ascertained by the investigator or associated with the information.” Anonymity is the condition in which that test fails even for the researcher: no one can ascertain who the data came from. Confidentiality is the weaker promise that someone who can identify the subject will not disclose it. The regulation’s phrase “or may readily be ascertained” is the practical warning — data stripped of names can still be identifiable, and then it is not anonymous in this sense.

This entry is sourced to a body with standing over the practice it names, which is tier 1 of this lexicon’s rule for research terms. Where a definition is quoted, it is the body’s own wording; the reading of what it implies is this lexicon’s.

Related terms

• Abbreviation
• Abstract
• Abstraction
• Academic Database
• Analysis
• Annotation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).