How to answer an opt-in vs opt-out data sharing question in a medical school interview
- Topic
- Research ethics
- Kind
- Policy and health systems
Prompt
A free fitness app you use announces that it will share users' location and exercise data, with names removed, with university researchers studying neighborhood health. Everyone is included unless they find the setting to opt out. Is this an acceptable way to do research?
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How to approach this question
What this question tests
- Ethical reasoning
- Critical thinking
How to approach it
This research ethics question tests whether opt-out consent is enough when researchers use personal data that's supposed to be anonymous. Name the stakeholders: users who never read the announcement, researchers who need large data sets to study neighborhood health, the company, and communities who'd benefit from the findings. Ask the questions that decide the answer, like whether location data can really be anonymous when it shows where someone sleeps and works, and whether an ethics board approved the study. Compare opt-in and opt-out consent, and weigh the value of the research against users' privacy and autonomy. Consider conditions that could make it acceptable, such as clear notice and limits on how the data is used. Then give a clear position.
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