This page lists key concepts and terminology related to the PEP system, and provides concise descriptions of each term. Follow hyperlinks to find out more.
| Concept | Description |
| ------- | ----------- |
| Access Administrator | The PEP role responsible for [data access management](Access-management#data-access). |
| access group | A named group of users that can be [authorized](Access-management) for specific actions. Also called a "role" in the system. |
| assessor | A person that takes measurements from (academic research) subjects. The `pepAssessor` application is primarily aimed at this type of user. |
| blending | The combination of several data sets into a single, larger data set. |
| Concept | Abbreviation | Description |
| ------- | ------------ | ----------- |
| Access Administrator | AA | The PEP role responsible for [data access management](Access-management#data-access). |
| access group | | A named group of users that can be [authorized](Access-management) for specific actions. Also called a "role" in the system. |
| assessor | | A person that takes measurements from (academic research) subjects. The `pepAssessor` application is primarily aimed at this type of user. |
| blending | | The combination of several data sets into a single, larger data set. |
| [Castor](https://www.castoredc.com/electronic-data-capture-system/) | An Electronic Data Capturing (EDC) system that PEP integrates with. |
| cell | The intersection of a column and a row, usable to store a single piece of data associated with a single participant. |
| column | A data structuring primitive associated with a single type of data, or with a single measurement. Columns are referred to by their names. |
| download | The act of retrieving data from PEP. |
| Data Administrator | The PEP role responsible for [data structuring](Data-structure) and management. |
| EDC | Acronym for `Electronic Data Capturing` system: third-party software used to gather and store data, e.g. from academic research study subjects. PEP provides out-of-the-box integration with the [Castor EDC](https://www.castoredc.com/electronic-data-capture-system/). |
| encryption | A technique to make information readable only to parties that are in possession of an associated secret. |
| identifier | A piece of information that uniquely denotes a single piece of data. The polymorphic pseudonym (PP) is PEP's primary [identifier type for rows](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#identifiers-in-pep). |
| local pseudonym (LP) | A row identifier that is unique to an access group. Different access groups use different local pseudonyms to refer to the same row. |
| participant | A subject in an academic research study. The term is commonly used in PEP software and documentation as a synonym for a data row. |
| [participant identifier](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#participant-identifier) | A fixed (non-polymorphic) identifier associated with a single PEP row. |
| PEP | A data storage system that provides polymorphic encryption and pseudonymization. |
| pepAssessor | A GUI application used for the registration, lookup and management of (academic research) subjects whose data are stored in PEP. Primarily intended for use by research assessors. |
| polymorphic pseudonym (PP) | A row identifier that is partially randomized. While any PP refers to a single row, a row is not uniquely associated with a single PP. |
| pseudonym | An identifier that uniquely denotes data, but is not otherwise associated with a real-world entity. Pseudonyms are applied to allow data manipulation without needing to divulge sensitive (e.g. personally identifying) information. |
| [pseudonymization](Pseudonymization) | The application of pseudonyms to data, making it difficult or impossible to associate information with a particular person or real-world entity. |
| registration | The addition of a new row to PEP in such a way that certain cells are initialized with appropriate data. Participants are usually registered using the `pepAssessor` application. |
| role | Synonym for "access group". |
| row | A data structuring primitive associated with a single entity or data subject. Rows are referred to by their identifiers. |
| [short pseudonym](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#short-pseudonyms)(SP) | An identifier for a piece of data not stored in PEP. Usually these are non-digital specimens such as biosamples taken during medical research. The identifier is stored in PEP, allowing the external specimen to be associated with the PEP row. |
| table | The conceptual structure of PEP's storage, in which rows refer to data entries (participants or subjects) and columns to different types of data (or separate measurements). |
| upload | The act of storing data in PEP. |
| user | A person that interacts with the PEP software. |
| user pseudonym | An abbreviated form of the local pseudonym. |
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| cell | | The intersection of a column and a row, usable to store a single piece of data associated with a single participant. |
| column | | A data structuring primitive associated with a single type of data, or with a single measurement. Columns are referred to by their names. |
| download | | The act of retrieving data from PEP. |
| Data Administrator | DA | The PEP role responsible for [data structuring](Data-structure) and management. |
| Electronic Data Capturing system | EDC | Third-party software used to gather and store data, e.g. from academic research study subjects. PEP provides out-of-the-box integration with the [Castor EDC](https://www.castoredc.com/electronic-data-capture-system/). |
| encryption | | A technique to make information readable only to parties that are in possession of an associated secret. |
| identifier | ID | A piece of information that uniquely denotes a single piece of data. The polymorphic pseudonym (PP) is PEP's primary [identifier type for rows](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#identifiers-in-pep). |
| local pseudonym | LP | A row identifier that is unique to an access group. Different access groups use different local pseudonyms to refer to the same row. |
| participant | | A subject in an academic research study. The term is commonly used in PEP software and documentation as a synonym for a data row. |
| [participant identifier](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#participant-identifier) | | A fixed (non-polymorphic) identifier associated with a single PEP row. |
| Polymorphic Encryption and Pseudonymization | PEP | A data storage system geared toward security and preservation of privacy and confidentiality. |
| pepAssessor | | A GUI application used for the registration, lookup and management of (academic research) subjects whose data are stored in PEP. Primarily intended for use by research assessors. |
| polymorphic pseudonym | PP | A row identifier that is partially randomized. While any PP refers to a single row, a row is not uniquely associated with a single PP. |
| pseudonym | | An identifier that uniquely denotes data, but is not otherwise associated with a real-world entity. Pseudonyms are applied to allow data manipulation without needing to divulge sensitive (e.g. personally identifying) information. |
| [pseudonymization](Pseudonymization) | | The application of pseudonyms to data, making it difficult or impossible to associate information with a particular person or real-world entity. |
| registration | | The addition of a new row to PEP in such a way that certain cells are initialized with appropriate data. Participants are usually registered using the `pepAssessor` application. |
| role | | Synonym for "access group". |
| row | | A data structuring primitive associated with a single entity or data subject. Rows are referred to by their identifiers. |
| [short pseudonym](https://gitlab.pep.cs.ru.nl/pep-public/user-docs/-/wikis/Pseudonymization#short-pseudonyms) | SP | An identifier for a piece of data not stored in PEP. Usually these are non-digital specimens such as biosamples taken during medical research. The identifier is stored in PEP, allowing the external specimen to be associated with the PEP row. |
| table | | The conceptual structure of PEP's storage, in which rows refer to data entries (participants or subjects) and columns to different types of data (or separate measurements). |
| upload | | The act of storing data in PEP. |
| user | | A person that interacts with the PEP software. |
| user pseudonym | | An abbreviated form of the local pseudonym. |
