# Protection of Personal Data in the Context of E-Commerce
## 6 Research Objectives and Methodology
### Results Analysis
#### 6.3.1 Demographic Overview  
In the study, data was collected from a total of 100 participants. The demographic distribution of the respondents, as depicted in Figure 3, reveals a gender composition where 58% were identified as male and 42% as female. Age-wise, most respondents, constituting 34%, were aged between 36 and 45. This group was closely followed by those aged 26 to 35, representing 32% of the sample. Respondents aged 18 to 25 comprised 15% of the population, whereas those between 46 and 55 accounted for 13%. The smallest age group, respondents over 56, comprised 6% of the sample. The educational qualifications of the respondents reveal that 63% of the participants possess higher education, while 37% have attained primary and secondary education. Within this distribution, individuals with secondary education predominate, comprising 34% of the sample. Those with graduate studies constitute 25%. Furthermore, 19% of the respondents reported having undergraduate degrees, and 13% have completed either a postgraduate specialist study or a scientific master's degree. Respondents with postgraduate university qualifications or doctoral degrees account for 10%, and the smallest group, those with only primary education, comprises 3% of the sample. The employment relationship data reveal that 68% of the participants are employed, 19% are students, 8% are unemployed, 3% are pensioners, and 2% have not disclosed their employment status. Regarding earnings, the highest % of respondents, 27%, report a monthly income exceeding EUR 1500.00. Another 20% earn between EUR 1001.00 and  
Figure 3: Structure of respondents by gender and age. EUR 1200.00 monthly, while 18% receive EUR 501.00 to EUR 1000.00. Approximately 16% of the participants have no income, and 6% earn up to EUR 500.00 monthly. Regarding residence, 37% of the respondents live in areas with populations exceeding 150,000. Smaller communities with 10,001 to 50,000 inhabitants house 23% of the respondents; 16% reside in areas with 100,001 to 150,000 inhabitants, 14% in communities with fewer than 10,000 people, and 10% in regions housing 50,001 to 100,000 inhabitants. For household composition, the largest group, 27%, consists of households with four members, followed by three-member households at 21%, two-member households at 20%, and individuals living alone at 18%. Households with five members account for 10%, those with six members comprise 3%, and the smallest group, 1%, has nine members. Concerning marital status, the majority of the respondents, 43%, are single. Married respondents comprise 38% of the sample, 15% live with a partner, and 4% are widowed. Data on household composition indicate that the most significant proportion of respondents, 27%, reside in households consisting of four individuals. Households with three members account for 21% of the sample, followed closely by two-person households comprising 20%. Eighteen percent of the participants live alone. Ten percent of the respondents are part of five-member households, while households with six and nine members represent 3% and 1% of the sample, respectively. The second segment of the questionnaire aimed to evaluate respondents' perceptions of their competencies in computer operation, Internet usage, and personal data privacy protection, including their ability to recognize indicators of secure websites. Respondents were asked to rate their skills using a Likert scale from 0 (representing computer illicra) to 7 (indicating expert computer skills). The analysis reveals that the respondents generally perceive their IT literacy as high, with the average score across attributes being 5.25 and the most frequent response being 6. Notably, individuals aged between 36 and 45 reported higher levels of IT proficiency, whereas those aged 56 to 65 tended to rate their computer knowledge lower. Respondents were queried about the frequency of their Internet use.