In 1999, I was hired to find over 900 drug addicts from a study that occurred several years prior. Soon after I dove into the contact info, I realized that most of the identifying information we had was false and scant, at best. Remember that this population tends to distrust “The Man,” and they often lump research studies into this category.
Some of the profiles looked like this:
James
2/12/64
White
Male
Broadway & First
Imperial City, USA
123-45-7548 (false)
Here are some ways these research participants withheld or lied about their contact information.
1. Date of Birth was accurate.
With the few instances where this wasn’t the case, the search for the real identity was much more time-consuming. Thank God they didn’t think DOB’s were a big deal.
2. Nearly all Social Security Numbers were false.
But all were very close to the accurate number.
ex. given – 999-77-6666 / real – 998-77-6667
These false SSN’s were crucial in confirming the real identity of participants. It would be a monumental coincidence if someone with the same DOB, lived in the same city, and gave a SSN this close, and not be the client who gave this information.
3. Majority of first names were accurate.
If they weren’t, they used middle names or family members names.
4. Majority of last names were inaccurate or withheld.
If you thought you would be thrown in jail for doing this research, you would probably go this route too.
5. Real addresses were always on the block of the address given (if not accurate).
Still a great lead. If you’re nice, neighbors may drop a clue or two.
In some future posts, I’ll talk about the internet methods I used to get the accurate information. More importantly, I’ll talk about ways to avoid getting bad information in the first place.
Merry Christmas!
