Commentary on Anonymous Versus Non-anonymous Surveys

When considering the transition from one school level to another one, or when investigating the change from instruction to workplace, using surveys, interviews, questionnaires, and also tests, one aspect that usually remains unexplored is the effect on the respondent(s) of feeling ‘safe’, which can be understood in terms of anonymous, or not, investigations. In this short chapter, we recall some theoretical considerations in literature and we report an example from a Bridge Course attended by freshmen at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. Some conclusions can, thus, be drawn.