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The report summarises main findings from two workshops held with the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank Consumer Panel, a group of volunteers who provide feedback and advice, from the perspective of members of the public, to administrative data researchers. The workshops focused on exploring ethics in administrative data research and were carried out to inform the work of Administrative Data Research (ADR) Wales. ADR Wales is a collaboration of academics at Swansea and Cardiff universities, officials at Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖand staff at the SAIL Databank based at Swansea University. ADR Wales works in partnership to generate insights from data-based research to provide evidence to support Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government.

The Consumer Panel felt that public awareness and understanding about data use, administrative data research, and its outcomes, is very low, and that increasing public awareness in this area is important to ‘get the message out’. Ways of improving public awareness could include using trusted sources to advertise and providing information about data used for research in the context of service provision. 

Accountability is an important aspect of data ethics. Panel participants highlighted that communication and redress are part of accountability, particularly when something goes wrong. Context is also important.  Government datasets are collective public resources and there should be a level of accountability to the public.

Participants recognised that public trust can be eroded by data breaches across different sectors and that they can undermine trust in data sharing processes across different contexts.

The Consumer Panel believed transparency is important so people can see how data is used and the outcomes of research. This allows them to assess (and feel reassured) that data has been used correctly. The Panel recognised, however, that there are risks associated with increased transparency and raising public awareness.

Panel participants suggested some strategies for improving public access to administrative data research, including utilising language that can be understood by different audiences, using visuals, avoiding technical terms, and focusing more on access as an issue in its own right.

Data ethics is difficult to precisely define. It concerns the social, technical and procedural elements of data initiatives and research, including assessing data practices, and their positive and negative impacts.  It includes foundational concepts such as accountability, fairness, transparency, public interest, public engagement and trust. A literature review on ethics in administrative data research found that practitioners have concentrated on developing technical aspects aimed at ensuring that research using administrative data is secure and legally compliant. However, less research has been done on what the public thinks about the ethics of research using administrative data.  

To assess what further research is needed is this area and to understand the important aspects of data ethics according to a small group of informed members of the public, two guided discussion workshops were held with the SAIL Consumer Panel. The transcripts from the two workshops were thematically analysed by Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖresearchers. This report summarises the main findings. For further details of the methodology and analysis of the themes see the full report (Ethics in Administrative Data Research: workshop analysis).

This was a small-scale study with an informed group of participants that does not necessarily represent the wider public either in terms of demographics, or data literacy. Further research is needed to explore the issues more widely with diverse sections of society.

Future research could include workshops with other ADR public panels, as well as representative public groups. It could also include qualitative research with analysts, academics and researchers to supplement the findings from this project.

Next steps could also include a programme of work to upskill researchers and analysts in communicating their work to different audiences and investigation into ways in which administrative data research can be made more accessible to the public.

The project team would like to thank the SAIL Consumer Panel for their time and invaluable insights. The team would also like to thank the engagement staff at Swansea University for their help in arranging and facilitating the workshops.

Report author: Emma Yates

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government.

For further information please contact:
Emma Yates
Data Acquisition and Linking for Research
Knowledge and Analytical Services
Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: ADRWales@gov.wales

Social research number: 33/2025
Digital ISBN: 978-1-83715-641-2