ABSTRACT
Ethical conduct refers to moral values and behavior; it is a foundation on which the legitimacy of social research rests. Keystones of ethical consideration in all research contexts include issues of anonymity and confidentiality in the creation and use of primary data and when it comes to data sharing and secondary use of data. Anonymity and confidentiality are often run together, as if they were the same or interchangeable ethical issues, but they are distinct concepts and practices (Sieber & Tolich, 2013; Wiles, 2013). Nonetheless, as we discuss, they tend to be tangled in UK discussions, including in relation to qualitative social research as well as in the case of sharing longitudinal data; largely, they are not concerned with the relationship of the original researchers to the data in addressing anonymity and confidentiality but with the potential relationship of third parties.
