Mosaic project

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Introduction

The Mosaic project identifies, gathers, harmonizes, and distributes surviving historical census microdata for Europe and beyond. It aims at building a comprehensive and detailed resource for the historic study of populations by historians, demographers, economists, and other researchers. The Mosaic project builds on historical integrated census microdata projects such as the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) and the North Atlantic Population Project (NAPP). Records are distributed in the same integrated format, so that historical comparisons can be made across time and space. Region covered by data: Europe, best coverage until now for Central and East Central Europe.

Shortname

MOSAIC

IDS compatible

Period

1430 - 1918

Territory

Europe, best coverage until now for Central and East Central Europe

Category

Cross sectional

Contact information

Organisation

Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock / Department of Demography and Center for Demography and Economics of Aging (CEDA), University of California, Berkeley / Max Plank Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle-Saale / University of Graz

Web Address

www.censusmosaic.org

Location

Rostock, Germany/Berkeley, USA/Halle, Germany/Graz, Austria

Postal Address

Mozartgasse 3, 8010 Graz, Austria

Contact Persons

Siegfried Gruber

si.gruber@uni-graz.at

Joshua R. Goldstein

josh@demog.berkeley.edu

Mikołaj Szołtysek

Szoltysek@eth.mpg.de

Citation

Mosaic database

Questionnaire
Download questionnaire
The questionnaire was submitted on 20 February 2015 by Siegfried Gruber.

Scope / Status

Original goal

Current status

The database is still under construction. It is intended to enhance the database regularly by adding additional country samples in the years 2015-2016.

Sample definition

A) data provided by Mosaic partners: Sample definition as used in previous projects by various people – no consistent definition across all data files. B) samples produced by Mosaic: Samples are based on surviving census material and try to cover the whole area of the census in question. Sample definitions differ and are provided with individual data files. Sampling units: settlements. Selection method: different selection methods depending on different samples.

Geographic area under observation

Europe, best coverage until now for Central and East Central Europe.

Keywords

census, demography, history

Sources

From year	End year	Source	Explanation
1430	1918	Population Census	Mainly 18th and 19th centuries.
1430	1918	Status Animarum	Mainly 18th and 19th centuries.
1430	1918	Tax registers	Mainly 18th and 19th centuries.
1430	1918	Population enumeration listings	Mainly 18th and 19th centuries.

Collection procedure

• Data collection period: in the Mosaic project since 2011, data donated to the project has been collected and transcribed since the 1970s. • Data collection method: scanning, transcription. • The transcription was done: by individuals from scanned sources, publications, xerox copies, original census material in archives, partly automatic controls. • The checking of the transcription was done by sample proof reading plus logical cross checks. • It was done after transcription. • Purpose of the transcription: research. • Control methods by researcher: completeness of codes, internal consistencies (e.g. a spouse must be married, children must be at least 14 years younger than parents). • Data collection staff: member of the project (25), free-lancer (about 20), other (data donated to Mosaic, number unknown).

Observations

Units of observation

Unit of observation	Explanation	Number
Individuals		2,400,000
Married couples	Can be derived.
Families/households	Individuals are grouped by households.
Farms	In rural areas households correspond generally to farms.

Are there any related observations that are not included in the database?

In some census lists additional information is provided as remarks (e.g. migration).

How do the units of observation enter observation?

Upon being included in a census.

How do the units of observation leave observation?

No leaving.

Dates estimated

No entry or exit dates.

Are some entry or exit dates unknown?

No entry or exit dates.

Can observations be linked to geographic locations?

Yes

Are the dates and locations of movements within the observation area recorded?

Are all individuals who lived in the households of sample members recorded?

Yes

Linkage

No linkages yet

Variables

Events

Type	Dated	Explanation
Birth	Partly	Sometimes date of birth, sometimes ages.
Other events	No	Generally not dated.

Variables

On individuals: age, first name, last name, marital status, occupation, presence/absence, relationship to head, religion, gender, literacy, person weight. On households: size, group quarter status, household weight, place, region, urban/rural.

Coding / Reference systems

Occupational titles: Occhisco used as in NAPP.

Locations (including geo-referenced system): latitude, longitude.

Religion, civil status etc.: Religion: own system, similar to NAPP.

Relationship to head, sex, marital status, literacy, urban/rural, presence, group quarter: based on codes of IPUMS and NAPP.

Data representation

SPSS, distribution as CSV-files

Kinship relations

Recording

1. Transcription of kinship title in census; 2. Coded in variable “relate”.

Depth of information

Households may contain two to four generations.

Publications

1. Main publications about the database itself

Szołtysek,M., & Gruber, S. (Forthcoming). Mosaic: recovering surviving census records and reconstructing the familial history of Europe. The History of the Family.

2. Main or exemplary publications on research based on the database

Gruber, S., & Szołtysek, M. (2015). The patriarchy index: a comparative study of power relations across historical Europe. The History of the Family. doi: 10.1080/1081602X.2014.1001769
Öri, P., & Pakot, L. (2014). Residence patterns in nineteenth century Hungary. Evidence from the Hungarian Mosaic Sample. Working Papers on Population. Family and Welfare, 20. Budapest: Hungarian Demographic Research Institute.
Gruber, S., & Szołtysek, M. (2012). Stem Families, Joint Families, and the European Pattern: What kind of a Reconsideration Do We Need? Journal of Family History, 37(1), 105-125. doi: 10.1177/0363199011428124
Gruber, S., Scholz, R.D., & Szołtysek, M. (2011). Real and Synthetic Household Populations and Their Analysis: An Example of Early Historical Census Microdata (Rostock in 1819). Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 44(2), 107-113. doi: 10.1080/01615440.2010.517508
Szołtysek, M., Gruber, S., Zuber-Goldstein, B., & Scholz, R. (2010). Living arrangements and household formation in the crucible of social change: Rostock 1867-1900. MPIDR Working Paper WP-2010-036.

European Historical Population Samples Network

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