A dramatic history of a sociological study – Project Metropolitan
At the beginning of the 1960s, Swedish researchers started a sociological study of all children born in Stockholm in 1953, Project Metropolitan.
This monograph describes the project’s at times dramatic history, where issues of personal integrity and the role of social sciences were heavily debated. These discussions were fueled by the rapid and far-reaching digitalization in society at large and also within social sciences.
Project Metropolitan came to symbolize the benefits and potential risks related to an expanding body of research based on large groups of individuals and multiple register data sources.
“Why do some get a better in life than others?”
One of the main aims of the project was to study the long-term impact of conditions in childhood. The project’s founders sought to answer the question: “Why do some get a better in life than others?” Today Project Metropolitan is known as the “Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study (SBC Multigen)” and is still in full vigor.
The author Sten-Åke Stenberg includes an updated presentation of the main findings, as they have been conveyed in over 160 publications to date. These publications cover a wide array of topics and phenomena such as social mobility and education, substance abuse and crime, health and ill-health, peer influences and family relations, and adult lives of adopted children.
In the concluding chapter the author discusses some of the challenges contemporary social research is facing. What are the current threats to academic freedom and what opportunities do the unique data registers in countries like Sweden provide?
Praise for Born in 1953
“This is the first sociological description of a cohort in a Nordic setting, which also discusses perspectives on the individual person registration systems which is rather unique in a Nordic context.” Merete Osler, Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Denmark
“This book is well written and easy-to-read, which makes it accessible for a wider audience. It provides interesting insights in how an important variant of empirical social research was initially launched and how it developed. /…/ It is good for the collective memory that these experiences will be saved. ”Martin Diewald, Professor of Social Structure, Bielefeldt University, Germany
The Author of this monograph
The Author, Sten-Åke Stenberg, is professor of sociology at the Swedish Institute for Social Research at Stockholm University. He has worked with Project Metropolitan for several decades. He has also been part of the study since he was born in 1953.
Editorial Board (Interim) of Social Sciences – Stockholm Studies in Social Policy and Welfare
Born in 1953: The story about a post-war Swedish cohort, and a longitudinal research project constitutes is the first volume of Editorial Board (Interim) of Social Sciences, soon to become a book Series of the Editorial Board of Stockholm Studies in Social Policy and Welfare, which will be a peer-reviewed series of monographs and edited volumes published by Stockholm University Press.
How to access this book
At the Stockholm University Press website you can download Born in 1953: The story about a post-war Swedish cohort, and a longitudinal research project as an ePub or pdf-file that allows you to read the book online or access it on multiple devices. You may also also order a print copy of the book through the website. https://doi.org/10.16993/bav
About the publisher Stockholm University Press
Stockholm University Press (SUP) is an open access publisher of peer-reviewed academic journals and books. We aim to make journals and books affordable, and to give them the widest possible dissemination, so that researchers around the world can find and access the information they need without barriers.
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