What does confidentiality mean in psychological research?

• A. Keeping participants' data private and not revealing identifying information without explicit permission.
• B. Publishing all data publicly to ensure transparency.
• C. Releasing participant data to family members.
• D. Sharing data with sponsors only.

Answer: (A)

Confidentiality means keeping participants' information private and not sharing identifying details without explicit permission. This protects privacy, fosters trust, and helps people feel safe to answer honestly, knowing their responses can’t be traced back to them. In practice, researchers separate data from names, use codes instead of personal identifiers, store information securely, and report results in a way that individuals cannot be identified. There are legitimate exceptions if there’s a safety or legal requirement, and these are disclosed during consent. The other options would breach confidentiality: publishing all data publicly could reveal identities, sharing with family members would invade privacy, and giving data to sponsors only could expose sensitive information without proper consent and safeguards.