‘The right to the protection of personal data is not an absolute right; it must be considered in relation to its function in society and be balanced against other fundamental rights, in accordance with the principle of proportionality.’

GDPR Recital 4


Take a look around you. Maybe you are in your office right now or at home in your study. If someone who does not know you were to enter this room, how quickly would this person know who this office or study belongs to? What ‘data’ in the room can be traced back to you as a unique ‘person’? This might be a picture of your family, a certificate on the wall, or a postcard with your name and address on it.

All of this constitutes personal data and that is what this first module is about.

And as a warm-up, we will start with a short quiz: what do you know about personal data?




Learning objectives

To understand whether it is necessary to take certain measures for the protection of personal data in research, it is first important to have a proper understanding of what personal data actually are. In this module you will learn about:

  • The difference between directly identifiable and indirectly identifiable personal data
  • Special categories of personal data and why it is important to provide additional protection for these data
  • When the GDPR does and does not apply with respect to personal data.


Good luck!