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In collaboration with
NEAR has various national and international collaborations with other infrastructures and consortiums. Below is a list of these major collaborators with NEAR.
In Sweden. We collaborate with other public health and social sciences infrastructures in Sweden.
REWHARD (Relations, Work and Health across the life-course ̶ A Research Data infrastructure)
REWHARD comprises the nodes LNU, SLOSH, IMAS and STODS. We work to strengthen the conditions for research on working and living conditions, sickness absence, health and well-being. REWHARD offers various services such as data access or analyses, sharing of statistical syntax files and advice on ordering and handling data. We also organise seminars on the use of Swedish databases for research within our field. REWHARD’s nodes include longitudinal linked microdata covering several decades from both surveys and nationwide registers for tens of thousands to several million individuals.
CORS (Comparative Research Center Sweden)
CORS is a national research infrastructure consortium that incorporates the largest, most influential and most widely used, international and national survey programs in Sweden. These are the European Social Survey (ESS), European Values Study (EVS), International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Swedish National Election Studies (SNES). The Swedish Citizen Panel (SCP) at the SOM Institute is also part of CORS. SCP is a research driven webpanel that offers ways of conducting various methodological experiments as well as following individuals or groups over time. The aim of CORS is to enable class-leading comparative survey research, and to contribute to improved policymaking and democratic debate in Sweden.
UGU (Utvärdering Genom Uppföljning)
Evaluation Through Follow-up (UGU) is a longitudinal study that has developed a unique database within the field of educational science. UGU consists of several longitudinal surveys that have been combined into a whole, which together creates a cohort sequential database. The database contains 10 different birth cohorts that are nationally representative samples which make it possible to carry out longitudinal, sequential, and cross-sectional analyses. The data consists of administrative tasks, measures of study prerequisites, survey tasks, study results and cognitive tests. UGU is one of the oldest social science databases in Sweden, the first survey was carried out in 1961.
STR (Swedish Twin Registry)
The Swedish Twin Registry (STR) is a national database that collects, stores and shares data on twins for the purpose of research. Project applications are reviewed and approved by STR’s expert group. It is possible for researchers to obtain addresses to contact twins themselves or add questions to our ongoing surveys after approval. The data collection started in the 60s and currently includes 135,000 twins. All twins born in Sweden are invited at the age of <1, 9, 15, 18 and 24. Parents and/or the twins answer online questionnaires and provide DNA samples (the twins). Follow-ups then take place repeatedly during aging. Data includes zygosity, survey data, measurement of physical activity, genotypes, biomarkers, DNA and serum. Metadata is available at strdata.se.
SIMPLER (Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-based Life-course and Environmental Research)
SIMPLER consists of two large population-based longitudinal cohorts and three region-specific sub-cohorts, an extensive biobank with blood, urine, fat biopsies, saliva, stool, and DNA, and a large database that now includes a growing component of omics. This national infrastructure, initiated in 1987, provides information about 110,000 men and women from three regions. Over the years, the participants have undergone repeated examinations, and the SIMPLER database has been updated against national registries. The infrastructure’s primary purpose is to provide users with integrated longitudinal lifestyle data, register information, and molecular measurements to foster high-quality research regarding the genetic and lifestyle causes of the development and consequences of late-onset disorders.
SwedPop: Svenska befolkningsdatabaser för forskning
SwedPop is a national research infrastructure with harmonized individual-level, life-course, cross-sectional and panel data, including large populations and a variety of social and geographical settings over long time periods. Data in SwedPop includes numerous demographic and socio-economic variables and covers large parts of the Swedish 19th and 20th century population, including the largest cities Stockholm and Gothenburg. Fully developed the infrastructure will offer access to linked life-course data for c. 3.5 million individuals from the 17th to the 20th centuries in selected regions, full-count national censuses 1880-1950 and death records from 1860-2019. The coordination in SwedPop improves the quality and comparability of the data, increases the spatial coverage, and bridges the gap between historical and modern population registers.
Outside Sweden. All local databases in NEAR already have long-standing collaborations with international consortiums. Some examples are:
External support
Below is a list of external infrastructures that already support or plan to support NEAR in the future.
Maelstrom Research
NEAR primarily uses the open-source software Opal and MICA developed by Maelstrom Research, which provides the foundation for the interactive e-codebook. NEAR consults Maelstrom Research for documenting and cataloging metadata, as well as for the harmonization processes. Maelstrom Research also provides IT support for software development & updates, and analysis solutions.
The Swedish National Database Service (SND)
NEAR and SND have an ongoing collaboration with fruitful discussions on metadata dissemination and developmental plans for future directions. NEAR metadata is available at SND (in DORIS). SND is an important part of the development of data documentation on a national level and NEAR is a member of the SND network.
National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden (NAISS)
NAISS (formerly SNIC) is a national research infrastructure that facilitates large-scale, high-performance computing resources, storage capacity, and advanced user support. NEAR OG has an ongoing discussion with NAISS, which provides resources for the secure handling of sensitive data to formalize regular support guidelines for data management and analysis.
Swedish University Computer Network (SUNET)
SUNET is an infrastructure that fulfills IT service requirements at Swedish universities. SUNET provides IT solutions to secure data transfers between the local databases and the NEAR Central, as well as the NEAR Central and users. NEAR and SUNET have an ongoing discussion on further developing the online meta-data platform.
The Register Utilizer Tool (RUT)
NEAR has an ongoing discussion with RUT to make the NEAR metadata available. This could facilitate an easier connection with registers for NEAR data.