Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice

The federal Certificate of Confidentiality plays an important role in research on sensitive topics by authorizing researchers to refuse to disclose identifiable research data in response to subpoenas in any legal setting. However, there is little known about how effective Certificates are in practice. This article draws on our legal and empirical research on this topic to fill this information gap. It includes a description of the purpose of Certificates, their legislative and regulatory history, and a summary of the few reported and unreported cases that have dealt with Certificates. In addition, we outline other statutory confidentiality protections, compare them to the Certificate\u27s protections, and analyze some of the vulnerabilities of a Certificate\u27s protections. This analysis allows us to make specific recommendations for strengthening the protections afforded to research data

Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice

The federal Certificate of Confidentiality plays an important role in research on sensitive topics by authorizing researchers to refuse to disclose identifiable research data in response to subpoenas in any legal setting. However, there is little known about how effective Certificates are in practice. This article draws on our legal and empirical research on this topic to fill this information gap. It includes a description of the purpose of Certificates, their legislative and regulatory history, and a summary of the few reported and unreported cases that have dealt with Certificates. In addition, we outline other statutory confidentiality protections, compare them to the Certificate\u27s protections, and analyze some of the vulnerabilities of a Certificate\u27s protections. This analysis allows us to make specific recommendations for strengthening the protections afforded to research data

Certificates of Confidentiality: Protecting Human Subject Research Data in Law and Practice

Researchers often require and collect sensitive information about individuals to answer important scientific questions that impact individual health and well-being and the public health. Researchers recognize they have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the data they collect and typically make promises, which are documented in the consent form. The legal interests of others, however, can threaten researchers\u27 promises of confidentiality, if they seek access to the data through subpoena. Certificates of Confidentiality (Certificates), authorized by federal statute, are an important tool for protecting individually identifiable sensitive research data from compelled disclosure. However, questions persist in the research community about the strength of Certificate protections, and the evidence on which to judge the strength is scant. In this article, we address those questions through a careful examination of the legislation and regulations concerning Certificates and the reported and unreported cases we have identified through our legal research and interviews with legal counsel about their experiences with Certificates. We also analyze other statutes that protect research data to compare them to the Certificate\u27s protections, and we review other legal strategies available for protecting research data. Based on our analysis, we conclude with recommendations for how to strengthen protection of sensitive research data

The influence of m-aminobenzoic acid on electrochemical synthesis and behavior of poly(aniline-co-(m-aminobenzoic acid)

Poly(aniline-co-(m-aminobenzoic acid)) was synthesized electrochemically at graphite electrode under galvanostatic conditions. Aqueous electrolyte for synthesis was consisted of HCl and different amount of aniline and m-aminobenzoic acid. The presence of the meta positioned carboxylic group in m-aminobenzoic acid influenced higher co-polymerization potential, different morphology and electrochemical behavior of copolymers compared to polyaniline. Electrochemical activity is achieved by proton exchange in neutral environment that can result in a faster charge/discharge process, which is in the case of PANI limited by slow anion exchange, making this material promising for consideration in super-capacitors and in biological system