Quantitative history

Quantitative history is a method of historical research that uses quantitative, statistical and computer resources. It is a type of the social sciencehistory and has four major journals: Historical Methods (1967– ), Journal of Interdisciplinary History (1968– ), the Social Science History (1976– ), and Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution (2010– ).

Quantitative historians use databases as their main sources of information. Large quantities of political, economic and demographic data are available in print or manuscript format, such as census information on individuals, and election returns. Large quantities have been converted into computer databases. The largest repository presently is the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) of the University of Michigan, which provides access to an extensive collection of downloadable political and social data for the United States and the world. Quantitative historians use statistical methods to find patterns of human behavior covering all sectors of society, not just the elites who create documents preserved in traditional archive.