Human Factors in Privacy Research

This book covers topics needed to be considered in research around usable privacy. The book starts from a psychological perspective and introduces readers to basic behavioral theories and models that can explain end-user privacy behavior (including the “privacy paradox”) on a theoretical level. Subsequently, an introduction to different study methods (e.g., experiment, survey, interviews, co-creation) used in usable privacy research is given. Based on this, different methodological aspects, such as identifying appropriate questionnaires, and applying User-Centered Design, will be discussed. Finally, the book describes application areas for privacy research such as dark patterns and presents solutions for privacy protection, e.g., regarding consent-giving and PETs. The book aims to bring together the different research approaches to the topic of usable privacy, which often originate from computer science, psychology, and law, and provide a methodologically sound basis for researchers who want to delve deeper into this topic.

This is an open access book.

Dr. Nina Gerber (Technical University of Darmstadt) currently is a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Darmstadt and within ATHENE – the German National Centre for Applied Cybersecurity. Her research interests are primarily in the areas of usable privacy & security, including social aspects of privacy and security, informed consent, UX design, and persuasion.

Alina Stöver (Technical University of Darmstadt) is a doctoral researcher at the Technical University of Darmstadt and within the Research Training Group “Privacy and Trust for Mobile Users”. Her research interest lies in the field of usable privacy & security, where she focuses on the perspectives of different stakeholders.

Prof. Dr. Karola (Marky Ruhr University Bochum) is an associate professor at the Ruhr University Bochum where she leads the Digital Sovereignty research group. Her research is focused on Usable Security and Privacy with a focus on the daily lives of individuals, social aspects, and hedonic interaction quality.