Table 1: Existing fields of inquiry assessed against characteristics of Population Data Science.

	Is the focus on people?	Do data come from multiple sources?	What is the primary aim of research?	Is technical and policy infrastructure a focus?
Population Data Science	Focus on people, systems and population-level insights	Yes, a primary objective is linking and/or integrating data from multiple data sources and data of different types	Research must be seen to have public value, with potential for positive impact on citizens and society	Infrastructure is a key focus, in particular with respect to legal, ethical, and privacy norms and public expectations. This covers all aspects of data from collection to storage and use.
Data science	The focus is on the data themselves. The field is general to all disciplines, though often focuses on “big data”	Linking can be, but is not necessarily a focus. Data from a single source (e.g. a private company) are often the focus.	Focus is use of data for actionable information. Data science techniques are often (though not exclusively) used by private, proprietary interests.	Not generally a focus outside of legal commitments to protect privacy
Informatics	General (though not exclusive) focus on providers or systems as much as people represented in the data.	Sometimes there is linking, though often from an operational perspective	Public good is present but often as a secondary objective behind (for example) implementation of technology-based solutions to improve health care delivery	Infrastructure focus is on database / technical development and implementation