Sowing : The Construction of Historical Longitudinal Population Databases

Kees Mandemakers; George Alter; Hélène Vézina; Paul Puschmann

doi:10.54195/BJYF5752

Sowing : The Construction of Historical Longitudinal Population Databases

Authors

Kees Mandemakers

George Alter

Hélène Vézina

Paul Puschmann

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/BJYF5752

Keywords:

Standardization Historical Data, Record Linkage, Longitudinal Research, Life Course, Historical Demography, Historical Microdata

Synopsis

Twenty-three major databases containing historical longitudinal population data are presented and discussed in this volume, focusing on their aims, content, design, and structure. Some of these databases are based on pure longitudinal sources, such as population registers that continuously observe and record demographic events, including migration and family and household composition. Other databases are family reconstitutions, based on birth, marriage and death records. The third and last category consists of semi-longitudinal databases, that combine, for instance, civil records and censuses and/ or tax registers. The volume traces the origins of historical longitudinal databases from the 1970s and discusses their expansion worldwide, in terms of sources and hard- and software. The contributions highlight the unique genesis and common developmental arcs of these databases, which are rooted in the fields of quantitative history, social and demographic history, and the history of ordinary people. The importance of these databases in advancing knowledge and insights in various disciplines is emphasized and demonstrated, along with the challenges and opportunities they face. The collection of technical descriptions of these databases represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of large database with longitudinal micro-data on historical populations. It includes descriptions of databases from Europe, North America, East-Asia, Australia, South-Africa and Suriname. Technical details, in terms of data entry, cleaning, standardization and record linkage are meticulously documented. The volume is a must-have for all scholars in the field of historical life course studies.

To access individual chapters, please visit Historical Life Course Studies.

Author Biographies

Kees Mandemakers

Kees Mandemakers is affiliated member of the Radboud Group for Historical Demography and Family History. He is senior fellow at the International Institute of Social History and Emiritus Professor of Large Historical Databases at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication of Erasmus University Rotterdam (endowed chair for Large Historical Databases). His main research interests include: methodology of large historical databases (topics: data processing, sample designs), social stratification and mobility and social history (topics: secondary education, infant and child mortality, shoe-industry).

George Alter

George Alter is Research Professor Emeritus in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. His research grows out of interests in the history of the family, demography, and economic history, and recent projects have examined the effects of early life conditions on health in old age and new ways of describing fertility transitions. He is also involved in international efforts to promote research transparency and data sharing.

Hélène Vézina

Hélène Vézina is professor in the Department of Human and Social Sciences at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Her research program focuses on historical demography and population genetics in a multidisciplinary context with projects on kinship, ancestral origins, fertility and longevity as well as on various diseases with a hereditary component. Since 2010, she is director of the BALSAC Project in charge of the development and exploitation of the population database.

Paul Puschmann

Paul Puschmann is Assistant Professor of Economic, Social and Demographic History at Radboud University Nijmegen. He is specialized in historical demography, migration history and the history of partner choice, marriage and the family. He is also interested in the population history of North Africa and the Middle East.