New User-Friendly Data Format in the SwedPop Portal

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ImageJohn Schnobrich

with the new format, we hope researchers will be able to start their analyses more quickly

SwedPop collects data from six different national databases to make historical population data accessible to researchers. A new output format has now been introduced for data downloaded from SwedPop. The previous IDS format (Intermediate Data Structure) is complemented by a new format that resembles a table, which is more familiar to many users. This change makes it easier to import data into various analysis programs such as R, Stata, SAS, and SPSS.

Porträtt: Annika Westberg. Utredare vid Enheten för demografi och åldrandeforskning vid Umeå universitet (EDÅ) Enhet: DDB Umeå

ImageHans Karlsson

"Previously, some processing was required before the data could be used, but with the new format, we hope researchers will be able to start their analyses more quickly," says Annika Westberg, analyst at CEDAR – Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research.

The new format is intended to improve accessibility to the data available in the portal. The previous format was designed to facilitate the coordination of data from different databases, which is essential for SwedPop’s functionality. The new format aims to reduce the complexity and increase accessibility, encouraging more researchers to utilize the extensive data available in the infrastructure.

"Access to the new format will make it easier for researchers to use SwedPop data and, hopefully, also increase the utilization of the infrastructure," Annika adds.

Interested in testing it out? 
Visit the SwedPop website.