Providing this information has to do with the difference between a confidential versus anonymous survey.
The words ‘anonymous’ and ‘confidential’ are often used synonymously when describing surveys. The Secord Monument Survey is a confidential survey, which means that the answers are linked back to personal information.
While overall survey responses will be shared and analyzed by the facilitator, the associated identity of the individual participants will never be shared/ reported or publicly tied to individual responses.
A confidential survey was chosen for this stage in the engagement process for the following reasons:
- Confidential surveys are useful because of the ability they provide to drill down into results of the survey.
- It allows the results to be segmented and analyzed by groups. Based on the segmented data it provides information about where potential issues or solutions lie.
- A confidential experience rather than an anonymous survey promotes social civility and reduces the incidence of rude or hurtful responses.
About confidentiality
Given the confidential nature of the survey, it is important to emphasize that there is no intention of disclosing participant details. Rather, this confidential survey allows us to document trends in the survey responses. This will help us better inform council about the desires and needs of the Kincardine community while reserving the option of following up with individual survey participants should it be necessary.
Anonymous surveys
In contrast, when participation is anonymous it is impossible to know how many times a Kincardine resident has participated in the survey, or if people responding are from our community. We want to ensure that everyone has the chance to share their insights equitably, and being able to connect individual responses to actual residents allow us to ensure that our focus remains on the Kincardine community.