National Statement Navigator
Question 4b
Are my activities restricted to surveys and observation of public behaviour that:
- uses information collected or recorded without personal identifiers;
- and
- is highly unlikely to cause distress to stakeholders?
More information
What is "observation of public behaviour"?
This means the use of observational methods in a place or setting accessible to the general public. Examples include parks, shopping malls, or train stations*. Places where public access is normally restricted (such as schools, offices, or factories) do not meet this requirement.
What are "personal identifiers"?
This will vary depending on context, and range from obvious identifiers such as names, residential addresses, and phone numbers; to non-obvious identifiers such as IP Addresses, hardware identifiers (e.g. from phones or smart devices carried on a person); to combinations of identifiers which in isolation would be unlikely to personally identify a person. An example of the latter is an observation combining estimated age, gender, and height among a small total group of observations. While one factor alone (e.g. estimated age) may not identify a person, multiple factors combined can identify a person in a group (e.g. a woman with an age over 60 and height of 185cm is likely to be pretty identifiable in a group). The more factors that are observed, the more likely this is.
Where can I find out more?
We suggest you contact us here if you are unsure whether this applies to your project.
*Note: while the general public may be able to access such places, you may need permission from the owners/operators of such places in order to conduct research. This is separate to ethical approval and should be considered during the design phase of research.