Study title

Finnish Voter Barometer 1978

Dataset ID Number

FSD1005

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1005

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Gallup Finland
• University of Helsinki. Department of Political Science

Abstract

The variables describe the following: satisfaction in the government, opinions on the economic development, opinions on labour market agreements, opinions on the tax reform and the government's work, interaction between voters and the parties, voting in the 1975 parliamentary elections, in the 1976 municipal elections, and in the 1978 presidential elections, changing one's party, changing one's candidate, finding a suitable candidate, assessing the qualities of electoral candidates, image of the parties, support of different parties in the forthcoming elections, future certainty of voting, conceptions about the different parties and one's own political standpoint, interest in politics, party sympathies and antipathies, and membership in organisations. Some variables are connected with the interview situation and the social structure of the sample.

Keywords

elections; municipal elections; parliamentary elections; political attitudes; political behaviour; presidential elections; voting

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Voter Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Gallup Finland
• University of Helsinki. Department of Political Science

Time Period Covered

1978

Collection Dates

1978-09-15 – 1978-10-06

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish population aged 18 or over

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

The sample was selected using the starting point method. In the first stage, the population was stratified according to the number of inhabitants aged 15 or over in each province and in the second stage, by municipality group within each province. Municipalities were classified into five groups on the basis of their level of industrialisation. The stratifying frame achieved in this manner was used to count how many interviews should be done in the municipalities of each municipality group in order to have a geographically and demographically representative sample. The municipalities in the sample have been selected with the Deming zone selection method. This method is based on the use of random numbers and gives each municipality an equal chance to be selected, although municipalities with large population have a better chance to be selected. A municipality may be sampled more than once - in which case more than one starting point is drawn for that municipality. The interviews were conducted in clusters of four subjects using the starting point method. The starting points were drawn from the population register, selecting individuals born on the 5th of any month, and then selecting starting addresses among them from the sample municipalities at fixed intervals. The first interview was conducted at the starting point; the person chosen for the interview within the household had to correspond to the age and sex criteria determined by the selection card. If necessary, one follow-up was made for each subject. Interviews were conducted in 48 cities and 57 rural municipalities. The number of respondents was 1,210.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

539 variables and 1210 cases.

Data Version

3.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables 15_3, 16, 17 and 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 are unreliable, as they may contain mistakes. In the case of variables q40 and q42 also the responses of those respondents who are members have been included, which is an error. In addition, the number of system missing values is mistakenly high for variables q41 and q43.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Gallup Finland & University of Helsinki: Finnish Voter Barometer 1978 [dataset]. Version 3.0 (2018-07-12). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1005

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Suomen demokratiaindikaattorit (2006). Toim. Sami Borg. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö. Oikeusministeriön julkaisu 2006:1.

Paloheimo, Heikki & Sundberg, Jan (2005). Puoluevalinnan perusteet. Teoksessa: Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa (toim. Heikki Paloheimo), 169-201. Helsinki: WSOY.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2002). Hallituksen toimintaan ja puoluejohdon taitavuuteen kohdistuva arviointi puoluekannatuksen selittäjänä. Politiikka 44(2), 124-143.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2003). Miten äänestäjät valitsevat puolueen? Politiikka 45(3), 175-193.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2005). Let the Force Be with the Leader: But Who Is the Leader? In: The Presidentialization of Politics: A Comparative Study of Modern Democracies (ed. Thomas Poguntke & Paul Webb), 246-268. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2005). Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa. Helsinki: WSOY.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2005). Puoluevalinnan tilannetekijät. Teoksessa: Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa (toim. Heikki Paloheimo), 202-228. Helsinki: WSOY.

Paloheimo, Heikki (2006). Asenteet poliittisia instituutioita ja toimijoita kohtaan. Teoksessa: Suomen demokratiaindikaattorit (toim. Sami Borg), 128 - 153. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö. Oikeusministeriön julkaisu 2006:1.

Grönlund, Kimmo & Paloheimo, Heikki & Wass, Hanna (2005). Äänestysosallistuminen. Teoksessa: Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa (toim. Heikki Paloheimo), 119-146. Helsinki: WSOY.

Borg, Sami & Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2002). Suuret ikäluokat ja valta. Hyvinvointikatsaus 1/2002, 51-58.

Borg, Sami (2006). Käsitykset kansalaisuudesta ja omista vaikuttamismahdollisuuksista. Teoksessa: Suomen demokratiaindikaattorit (toim. Sami Borg), 115-127. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö. Oikeusministeriön julkaisu 2006:1.

Karvonen, Lauri (2014). Parties, Governments and Voters in Finland. Politics under Fundamental Societal Transformation. Colchester. ECPR Press