personal data personal data
Any information that is related to a person, including information that can identify them.
Example of personal data in a sentence
A research study will often collect personal data from participants to answer the study question.
More Info
Personal data includes information that can be used by itself or with other data to identify a person. Examples of personal data are name, geographical location, ID numbers, or other information that make a person identifiable.
Researchers use a few different ways to protect participants’ personal data, like creating a participant code and storing personal data separately from study data.
Other info to think about when joining a study
You might see or hear the term “personal data” in many different contexts.
In clinical research, you might see the term in the consent form or hear about it during conversations about the study and what information will be collected about you during the study.
There are laws in place in clinical research to protect how personal data is used.
You can ask the study team about what personal data will be needed in the study, how that data will be used, and whether any data will be stored for future research.
