Register-based research
Register-based research is understood to mean researchers’ access to and use of data files containing information about, for example, persons and businesses, such as health data and statistical information. In an international context Denmark has a relatively large number of such records, and the use of civil registration numbers (the Danish CPR numbers) provides relatively good possibilities to link registers together for the benefit of research. Register-based research plays a major role in Denmark in health and social sciences, where it has gained increasing importance in recent years, not least due to the increased level of digitalisation.
Register-based research may give rise to both legal and ethical challenges. These include requirements towards data protection and privacy as a result of, among other things, the Danish Act on Processing of Personal Data, the Danish Health Act, the Danish Act on the Civil Registration System, and the Danish Act on Research Ethics Review of Health Research Projects.
For more general information on register-based research, please refer to
- www.registerforskning.dk (The Coordinating Body for Register-based Research, abbreviated as KOR in Danish)
- Registerforskning – nye muligheder og nye udfordringer (available in Danish only, a Committee Report on the new opportunities and challenges presented by register-based research, published by the Danish Council for Research and Innovation Policy, 2013)
