Data Protection and Ethics

The PIAAC International Project Management and the National Project Management of PIAAC in Germany have committed to comply with statutory data protection regulations and ethical guidelines. All institutions involved in implementing PIAAC in Germany work in accordance with applicable data protection regulations, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). At GESIS, compliance with data protection is ensured by the data protection officer. The survey data will be treated as strictly confidential. Personal data will not be made accessible to third parties, and it will be ensured that individual persons are not identifiable in the data.

The study is conducted according to ethical principles; GESIS has obtained a confirmation of ethical approval for the PIAAC study. Interviewers were specially prepared for their tasks in a five-day in-person training course. One aspect of training focused on ensuring that interviewers interact with target persons in a respectful way and respect their rights. Participation in PIAAC is voluntary; during the interview, the respondent may opt not to answer a question at any time. The selected persons will receive a letter, a data protection sheet, and a flyer informing them in detail about the study and their rights.