No, this information is not needed per se. It is not part of the actual HRQOL outcomes. Besides, certain authorities and/or ethical committees consider that this info is part of patient’s privacy and should not be collected. So, this question may be omitted or modified. However, be aware that in most studies one will need an unambiguous method of matching a person’s questionnaire with other relevant study data. Many regulatory bodies (e.g. The World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki, International Conference on Harmonization (ICH), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and EU Clinical Trials Directive guidelines) require that a study subject’s right to data protection and privacy must be safeguarded in the context of a clinical study. This usually implies that the names of the study participants cannot be collected since these must remain anonymous to the study investigators handling the data. If you are unsure which privacy data you can or cannot collect, please check with your local or national governing Ethical Committee for guidance.