In the discussion on the podcast, what role do research ethics, including confidentiality, play

What do you think about the points raised in the podcast? Do you think census data should be used to identify undocumented immigrants in order to deport them? In the discussion on the podcast, what role do research ethics, including confidentiality, play in terms of the safety or honesty of respondents? On another note, why do you think some people are reluctant to answer census questions? Address some or all of these questions in your answer. Be sure to include information from the podcast to demonstrate that you listened to it.

According to the podcast, the last five census surveys did not ask about citizenship status but Trump administration wants to ask the question about citizenship in the upcoming 2020 census. There is a huge role played by the census about finding the ethnic composition of the country and the allocation of resources to these people. I think that the census should be done scientifically by asking people about their demographics, income status, education etc. and not about where they are from and what their legal status is. Asking such question will create an uncertainty and may take many people in hiding who won’t even participate in census. Asking about citizenship and legal status would make the census politicized.

The podcast has pointed out that though, the data about census is considered confidential but still it has been used to target people. I think that it is against the research ethics, especially in the field of sociology. People should be thoroughly informed about how the data collected will be used because they have the right to know about it. This could also be a reason why people are reluctant to answer census questions because they know there may be no confidentiality to it.