Study title

Polling in Finnish Presidential Elections 2000

Dataset ID Number

FSD1197

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1197
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd1197

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere. Finnish Social Science Data Archive)

Abstract

The survey studied voter opinions on pre-election polls (a Gallup poll), and the impact of polls on the first round of the 2000 presidential elections in Finland. The interviews examined how the polls affected voting activity and the choice of candidate.

The respondents were first asked how certain they were that they would vote in the second round of the elections, which one of the two candidates they would vote for if the elections were held at that time, and how certain they were that they would vote for the candidate they supported at the time of the interview. The survey also investigated whether the respondents had voted in the first round of the elections, when they had voted, and who they had voted for. Further questions covered whether the political party or the candidate had been more important in their choice of candidate in the first round, and when they finally decided who they would vote for.

In relation to polling, the respondents were asked how often they had seen or heard poll ratings on television, newspapers or radio. Further questions charted how often the respondents had discussed these ratings with others, and to what extent they believe these polls affected people's choice of candidate in general and their own choice in the first round of the elections.

The respondents were also asked how reliable they considered the polls published before the first round of the elections to be. Views were also probed on who the respondents would have voted for in the first round if no polls had been published during the week that preceded the elections.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, education, occupational status and economic activity, type of neighbourhood, household composition, household income, and which party R would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time and which party R had voted for in the last parliamentary elections.

Keywords

elections; heads of state; parliamentary elections; political parties; political support; presidential candidates; presidential elections; voting; voting behaviour

Topic Classification

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

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Gallup Finland

Time Period Covered

2000-01

Collection Dates

2000-01

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Enfranchised Finnish population living in Finland (18 years of age by 16 January 2000)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

The sample size was 1,007.

Collection Mode

Telephone interview: Computer-assisted (CATI)

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: Finnish.

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

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variable identifying municipality has been removed from the data.

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

Borg, Sami (University of Tampere): Polling in Finnish Presidential Elections 2000 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-08-07). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1197

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

Suhonen, P. (2000). Mielipidetutkimusten rooli presidentinvaaleissa. Teoksessa: Presidentti 2000. Mistä vaalit on tehty? (toim. P. Isotalus & E. Aarnio), 63-87. Jyväskylä: SoPhi.

Moisio, Janne (2015). Kannatusmittausten vaikutus strategiseen äänestämiseen Suomen presidentinvaaleissa 1994-2012. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Valtio-opin pro gradu -tutkielma.