Researchers link historical records to pressing social questions at research workshop | Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics

Researchers link historical records to pressing social questions at research workshop

Posted on Friday, May 12th, 2017

Professors Kris Inwood and Chad Gaffield speak at the Systematic Linking of Historical Records Workshop at the University of Guelph.

What was the impact of the first social welfare program? Which kinds of households were at greatest risk during the 1918 influenza epidemic? The answers to these economic and social questions and many others are being answered by data contained in historical records such as marriage certificates, medical records and military records.

International researchers are uniting this week at the University of Guelph for a three-day workshop dedicated to sharing knowledge on this topic that continuously expands our knowledge and understanding of our present by analyzing our past. The main purpose of the workshop is to strengthen this growing area of interdisciplinary research by discussing topics such as linking strategies and data quality assessment. Led by economics and history professor, Kris Inwood, attending scholars come from a diverse group of academic backgrounds (history, economics, geography, computing science).

Visit the workshop website for more information.

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