We are in the early stages of a new era of demographic research that offers exciting opportunities to quantify demographic phenomena at a scale and resolution once unimaginable. These scientific possibilities are opened up by new sources of data, such as the digital traces that arise from ubiquitous social computing, massive longitudinal datasets produced by the digitization of historical records, and information about previously inaccessible populations reached through innovations in classic modes of data collection. In this commentary, we describe five promising new sources of demographic data and their potential appeal. We identify cross‐cutting challenges shared by these new data sources and argue that realizing their full potential will demand both innovative methodological developments and continued investment in high‐quality, traditional surveys and censuses. Despite these considerable challenges, the future is bright: these new sources of data will lead demographers to develop new theories and revisit and sharpen old ones.

中文翻译：

---

人口统计研究的新数据源


我们正处于人口研究新时代的早期阶段，该时代提供了令人兴奋的机会，可以以曾经难以想象的规模和分辨率来量化人口现象。这些科学可能性是由新的数据来源开辟的，例如无处不在的社会计算产生的数字痕迹、历史记录数字化产生的大量纵向数据集，以及通过经典数据收集模式创新获得的有关以前无法访问的人群的信息。在这篇评论中，我们描述了五种有前途的人口数据新来源及其潜在吸引力。我们确定了这些新数据源所面临的跨领域挑战，并认为要充分发挥其潜力，就需要创新方法的开发以及对高质量传统调查和普查的持续投资。尽管存在这些巨大的挑战，但未来是光明的：这些新的数据来源将引导人口统计学家开发新理论，并重新审视和完善旧理论。