Taking the names out

Who it is for

• Anyone about to summarize open-text evaluation comments
• Coordinators who have wondered whether it is safe to paste feedback into a chatbot
• Teams that need a routine rather than a judgment call each time

What is inside

• The six-step routine, with checkboxes
• The eight search terms where missed identifiers hide, including the ones people never think of
• A stopping test, so you know when you are actually finished
• The never-paste list, condensed to one page
• The four questions to ask before pasting anything
• A box to record which tools are approved where you work, and who to ask

How to use it

1. Work on a copy. Save the export as a separate working file so the original is never touched.
2. Replace names with placeholders. Find and replace, keeping the key on paper rather than in the file.
3. Run the eight searches. This is the step that catches what find-and-replace missed. Most files have something in at least four of them.
4. Sample ten at random. If two of ten still contain something identifying, you are not finished.

Time to fill in

10 minutes per file

Used by

Making sense of open text feedback

Format

Microsoft Word (.docx), editable