Data protection in surveys on educational trajectories is challenging due to their panel design, the fact that data are collected over the course of a lifetime, and conducting surveys in schools. The aim is to facilitate specific research projects while ensuring the informational self-determination of study participants. For this reason, the working unit Data Protection in Surveys considers the entire data lifecycle, from preparing data for collection to providing data as scientific use files.

The central task for the multidisciplinary team in the working unit Data Protection in Surveys is to reconcile respondents’ data protection rights with the respective study design as effectively as possible. This is based not only on the current legal framework and its interpretation but also on the latest survey methodology research regarding consent and other data protection aspects. Since approval of school-based studies by the state ministries of education requires, in particular, that the conceptual framework for data protection be developed in close coordination with all parties involved in the study, the working unit also coordinates the state-specific approval procedures with the state ministries of education and the relevant data protection authorities. 

A key data protection challenge in longitudinal studies is the storage of address and contact data for the purpose of re-contacting participants. Thanks to its expertise in designing longitudinal surveys in compliance with data protection regulations, the working unit also coordinates the Add-On studies, in which panel studies at the LIfBi are opened up for content proposed by external researchers. Both Add-On project partners and the scientific community benefit from the working unit’s consulting services and its “FACT SHEETS | Data Protection in Social Surveys” regarding data protection in surveys.