19 Data protection issues in the National Educational Panel Study

Abstract

In an information- and knowledge-based society, data protection plays a significant role. Basically, it has to ensure the right to informational self-determination codified in the individual’s right to decide whether to disclose or not disclose his or her personal data. Recent decades have seen a strong growth in the awareness of data protection issues in the social sciences. The German National Educational Panel Study was established to collect survey data on educational processes and competence development for the scientific community. Its complex multicohort sequence design harbors several challenges for data protection: The legal regulations, the longitudinal design, the different populations under study, the varying collection modes and the sampling procedure all need to be considered from the perspective of data protection when collecting, processing, and disseminating data. Appropriate procedures and clear structures are essential. These can be developed only in a close cooperation between social scientists and data protection experts.