It remains unknown how different types of sources affect the reconstruction of life courses and families in large-scale databases increasingly common in demographic research. Here, we compare family and life-course reconstructions for 495 individuals simultaneously present in two well-known Dutch data sets: LINKS, based on the Zeeland province’s full-population vital event registration data (passive registration), and the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN), based on a national sample of birth certificates, with follow-up of individuals in population registers (active registration). We compare indicators of fertility, marriage, mortality, and occupational status, and conclude that reconstructions in the HSN and LINKS reflect each other well: LINKS provides more complete information on siblings and parents, whereas the HSN provides more complete life-course information. We conclude that life-course and family reconstructions based on linked passive registration of individuals constitute a reliable alternative to reconstructions based on active registration, if case selection is carefully considered.

在人口研究中越来越普遍的大规模数据库中，不同类型的来源如何影响生命历程和家庭的重建仍然未知。在这里，我们比较了两个著名的荷兰数据集中同时存在的 495 个人的家庭和生命历程重建：LINKS，基于泽兰省的全人口生命事件登记数据（被动登记），以及荷兰的历史样本(HSN)，基于出生证明的全国样本，对人口登记中的个人进行跟踪（主动登记）。我们比较了生育率、婚姻、死亡率和职业状况的指标，并得出结论，HSN 和 LINKS 中的重建很好地反映了彼此：LINKS 提供了更完整的兄弟姐妹和父母信息，而HSN提供了更完整的生命历程信息。我们得出的结论是，如果仔细考虑案例选择，基于个人关联被动登记的生命历程和家庭重建构成了基于主动登记的重建的可靠替代方案。