European Values Systems Study Group (EVSSG) carried out the first EVS surveys in several Western European countries in 1981. The World Values Surveys series was started when the original EVS study evoked such interest that it was replicated in 14 additional countries. EVS and WVS surveys have been carried out in several waves.
Structurally, the international surveys of the World Values Survey (WVS) series resemble the Eurobarometers and the ISSP surveys. Citizen activities, attitudes, and basic values in different countries are studied with integrated, structured surveys.
European Values Study group is responsible for the EVS data collection. The planning of the WVS has been carried out by the World Values Survey network. FSD collections cover Finnish data from 1996 onwards.
The data is the Finnish subset for the 1995-1996 World Values Survey. The survey charted views of values extensively, including gender roles, child rearing, environment, employment, religion, and how society should be organised. Satisfaction with the political system and democracy was also surveyed.
Regarding child rearing, the respondents were asked which qualities and characteristics should be encouraged in a child and what children should learn at home. The respondents' membership in various organisations and associations was studied as well as their expectations and experiences of being in control of one's own life. Opinions on the ideal number of children and the position of women in society were charted. Concerning politics, the respondents were asked about their political attitudes, views of democracy in Finland, duties and obligations of the government, and the scope of corruption and bribery in the country. Also studied was the party the respondent would vote for in parliamentary elections, and the party they would not vote for under any circumstances. The respondents were also asked how their families had managed in terms of finances in the previous year. Background variables included, among others, the respondent's marital status, number of children, gender, age, education, occupation, economic activity, working hours, and household income.
A three-stage stratified sampling was used. In the first stage the number of subjects required by the survey was regionally divided by province. In the second stage the number of subjects was divided within each province by municipality subgroup. City municipalities were grouped into big and small cities and rural municipalities into three different subgroups based on the occupational structure of the population. The third stage consisted of sampling starting points (starting addresses) in the selected municipalities. The number of starting points depended on the population size. The interviews were conducted with the random-walk method. Six interviews were made starting from the randomly selected starting points. One member corresponding to the age and gender eligibility criteria was chosen for the interview from each sample household.