Research: Identifiable or anonymous data

When you apply for research data from the Tax Administration, you must explain whether the information should be directly or indirectly identifiable, or whether it can be disclosed in anonymised form.

The Tax Administration basically distinguishes between

  • directly identifiable data
  • indirectly identifiable data
  • anonymous data

Directly identifiable data is information that directly identifies the person, persons and/or entity to which the information relates. Examples of this are national identity numbers and organisation numbers.

Indirectly identifiable data is information that can indirectly identify the person, persons and/or entity to which the information relates. An example of this is data that do not contain national identity numbers and/or organisation numbers, but where indirect identification is possible.

Anonymous data means that identification, whether direct or indirect, is not possible when all means that could reasonably be used are considered. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s guidelines for the anonymisation of personal data contain examples of what anonymisation may involve in practice. The guidelines may also be relevant for data other than personal data.