About the database

The database of the Dictionary of Swedish National Biography is a republication of the dictionary on the Internet. The texts in the online version are the the same as in the printed dictionary, although this is still the original. The Internet publication and database have been produced in order to provide tools and a service to the general public and researchers, and not as a replacement for the printed dictionary. Due to the scanning process implemented for the biographies, the same quality cannot be guaranteed in the database version as in the printed texts. Consequently, we recommend that reference always be made to the printed original. The Internet version is being proofread, but this will take time.

Search options

The biographies have been made searchable by adding much of the information to a database where users can search by name, year of birth and death, profession and certain items of topographical data. There is an option for a simple search on just the name, personal name or family name, and also an advanced search function. In this, users can also search by year (and date) of birth, year (and date) of death, place of birth and death, sex, profession and biography author, as well as by various combinations of the above data.

It is also possible to run a free text search throughout the entire text. Various parts of the biographies have been marked up in order to improve the free text search. This makes it possible to select the parts of the text to search:

• Qualifications (compressed list of qualifications)
• Biography (the narrative text)
• Author (author of the biography)
• Archive details
• Printed works
• Sources and literature.
• During a free text search, users can search either the entire text or limit their search to any of the headers.

Professional categories

There is also a different search method for professions. All people with biographies have been categorised by profession in a three-level system. Professions can be found either by using the tree structure for the professional categories or by carrying out a free text search among professions. At the lowest level are professional titles (or other mandates) held by the person in question, such as author, army officer, member of the Riksdag (Swedish parliament), district judge, etc. The middle and top levels specify general categories.

Hence a district judge may be found by opening the top category "Administration", followed by the middle category "Law" and finally "District judge", while an army officer may be found by searching the headers "Military", "Officers", "Army officers". The entire list of categorised professions can also be opened in a tree structure in order to overview the structure.