Seeking explanation in theory: Reflections on the social practices of organizations that distribute public use microdata files for research purposes

Public concern about personal privacy has recently focused on issues of Internet data security and personal information as big business. The scientific discourse about information privacy focuses on the crosspressures of maintaining confidentiality and ensuring access in the context of the production of statistical data for public policy and social research and the associated technical solutions for releasing statistical data. This article reports some of the key findings from a small‐scale survey of organizational practices to limit disclosure of confidential information prior to publishing public use microdata files, and illustrates how the rules for preserving confidentiality were applied in practice. Explanation for the apparent deficits and wide variations in the extent of knowledge about statistical disclosure limitation (SDL) methods is located in theories of organizational life and communities of practice. The article concludes with suggestions for improving communication between communities of practice to enhance the knowledge base of those responsible for producing public use microdata files.