Scottish Historic Population Platform (SHiPP)

The SHiPP project aims to create a research ready database derived from the Scottish civil registration certificates – births, deaths and marriages – between 1855 and 1973.

Lead: Professor Chris Dibben, University of Edinburgh 

To achieve this, we have developed and applied novel linkage techniques to link these historical certificates with the objective of reconstructing individuals’ life courses and generating family pedigrees. We have also linked these certificates to the National Records for Scotland (NRS) Population Spine, which in turn will allow linkage to other administrative datasets. The resulting database is called the Scottish Historic Population Platform (SHiPP).  

SHiPP is part of a research strand of The Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR) which analyses data from across the public sector, exploring what linking it in new ways can reveal.  SCADR has now become the ADR Scotland.

Administrative Data Research Scotland (ADRS)

Alongside the Scottish Government, we form ADR Scotland, the Scottish element of the ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) partnership, working to improve access to administrative data across the country. We are funded by UKRI / ESRC, as part of the ADR UK partnership.

ADR Scotland and partners ensure evidence and trends are highlighted so the public, civil society and decision-makers have access to the information they need, for the benefit of all.

ADR Scotland directors, researchers, staff and affiliates are from a range of leading institutions across Scotland, and the centre itself is hosted within the University of Edinburgh. We are led by Professor Chris Dibben and our co-directors.

Together, our team:

  • delivers cutting-edge applied research with real-world impact;
  • leads debate and influences practice; and
  • improves access to data and builds researcher capacity.

Our research uses administrative data to examine issues from across society in Scotland and the UK.