Qualitative Research Protocols for Studying Identity Theft Resolution

These qualitative research protocols were designed as part of the Personal Data and Identity Theft (PDIT) study to elicit experiences, procedures, and impacts associated with identity theft victimization and resolution. Specifically, the study investigated identity theft resolution from the perspective of victims and the organizations they navigated. Through in-depth interviews with victims, it explored how individuals went about resolving identity theft and detailed the financial and emotional toll that experience took on them and their families. It also examined the perceived issues and challenges facing organizations and government agencies involved in the remediation process by interviewing staff and observing work in key organizational contexts. Together, these methods elucidated how managing personal data burdens individuals and contributes to economic insecurity, as well as how various parties negotiate risk and trust to repair breakdowns in expert systems for identification central to various institutional domains in the United States.