The 1871 census data support long-term and comparative analysis of culture, society and economy in Scotland and Canada. Systematic documentation of individual behaviour in matters such as employment, marriage, fertility and migration allows us to understand large-scale historical change as a result of individual decisions and actions multiplied over and over across a population. Research of this nature relies critically on systematic evidence about large numbers of people.
We benefit from the support of other projects and centres which are preparing digital versions of census and related resources. They include: Minnesota Population Center, North Atlantic Population Project,UK Data Archive – History, Norwegian Historical Data Centre, Norwegian Digital Archives, University of Umeå Center for Population Studies, 1852 and 1881 Canadian Census Project, Canada Century Research Infrastructure Project, FamilySearch Historical Reconstitution. The York University CCRI site has a short list of related projects. The Online Historical Population Reports Project provides digital access to British population and census reports, archival material from The National Archives and critical essays contextualising the material.