Question

Anonymous? Confidential? Texas A&M, like many universities, offers screening for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Students may choose either anonymous or confidential screening. An announcement says, “Persons who sign up for screening will be assigned a number so that they do not have to give their name.” They can learn the results of the test by telephone, still without giving their name. Does this describe the anonymous or the confidential screening? Why?

Short answer

It is anonymous screening.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

It is understood that Texas A&M University, like many other universities, provides HIV testing.

Concept

Individuals are purposely subjected to a treatment in order to measure their responses in an experiment.

Explanation

In response to the query, Texas A&M University, like many other campuses, provides HIV testing. Students can also select between anonymous and confidential screening. They can also get the test results over the phone without disclosing their name. As a result, it is anonymous because no name is required, but it is not secret because anyone can call and give a different number than their own, allowing anyone to know the outcome of a certain individual (although not the name).