Be cautious of asking personal questions before you've established trust with the respondent. If you ask for personal information too soon, you run the risk of the respondent not completing the survey. Whenever you ask a personal question, respondents are going to think about the answers to subsequent questions and how you may be able to identify them and connect them to their answers.
A Clear Picture of Your Audience
Most personally identifiable questions fall under the category of demographics. This includes information such as age, gender, occupation, and marital status among many others.
It’s considered best practice in survey research to ask some basic demographic questions. This information helps you understand the distribution of respondents. For example, if your objective is to gather responses from the general population you will want to see a fairly even distribution of ages and a balanced response of genders. Demographics are also necessary if you intend to conduct any kind of multivariate analysis or cross tabulation.
The Mosaic Effect
A good rule of thumb is to not collect more personal information than you really need for your research and analysis. The mosaic effect occurs when the layering of pieces of personal information leads to identifying an individual respondent. The most dangerous aspect of the mosaic effect is when respondent’s are personally identified and their opinions are linked to their identity. It’s best to avoid collecting this kind of information because it can be even more damaging if there’s a security breach. Note: Collecting personally identifiable information as part of a survey must always include a correct Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) statement.
Establish Trust
Establishing and maintaining public trust is a critical component of everything a municipality does. So how can you establish trust in survey research? First, start with general easy-to-answer questions that don't ask any personal information. Once you've established rapport with the respondent it will be easier to ask and have them answer personal questions. This is best achieved at the end of the survey.
To reinforce trust among respondents, be transparent about why you're asking for demographic information and how it will be used. It’s important to explain that survey responses are anonymous and that the respondent's personal information will be confidential.