Study title

Students at the University of Turku 1999-2001

Dataset ID Number

FSD1223

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1223

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Mäkinen, Jarkko (University of Turku. Department of Education)
• Mäkinen, Mirka (University of Turku. Department of Education)

Abstract

A follow-up study of students at the University of Turku. Participating students had started their studies in the autumn of 1998 and the surveys were conducted in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The composite data were part of a research project called Growing Demands of Skills and Knowledge - Learning and Development of Expertise in the Information Society, which in itself was a subproject of the Information Research Programme. The research programme was funded by the Academy of Finland. The surveys contain both one-off questions and annually repeated questions. In each survey, respondents evaluated their study strategies, the quality and nature of teaching in their course/major subject/department and their plans for the future.

In the 2000 survey, the students evaluated their study success, study strategies and time management. Several questions pertained to preparing for exams. Feelings in socially demanding situations involving groups (e.g. seminars) were charted. Study aims and the extent of guidance received were investigated. Other questions covered the respondents' childhood home, occupation and education of their parents, reading and cultural participation of the family, parental attitudes to university studies, respondents' ICT skills when entering the university and current leisure habits. The respondents evaluated the level of their own expertise in their field of study.

In 2001, the respondents were asked whether they worked during terms and whether they had under-age children. They were also asked whether their idea of their future professional field had changed during studies and whether the field was suitable for them. Different aspects of the learning environment in their course/major subject were studied (e.g. teaching methods, work load, degree of abstractness, feedback, quality of teaching). Experiences of guidance from student counsellors, teachers or fellow students were charted. Other questions covered study strategies, workload, study goals, exam preparations and feelings caused by studies. Future plans were studied by asking whether the respondents aimed to continue studying the same subject. Respondents rated the importance of different characteristics, skills and knowledge (e.g. human, language or literary skills, innovativeness, ability to solve problems) for experts in their field.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, faculty, major subject/course and previous degrees.

Keywords

education; expectation; family influence; fields of study; higher education institutions; satisfaction; student behaviour; students; teaching methods; tertiary education; tutoring; university courses

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Youth (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Higher and further education (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

• Mäkinen, Mirka (University of Turku. Department of Education)

Time Period Covered

1999 – 2001

Collection Dates

1999-01 – 2001-03

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Turku

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Students who had started their studies at the University of Turku in the autumn of 1998 and had given permission for their addresses to be passed over to the researchers.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

In 1999, the questionnaire was sent to 1664 students, of whom 1654 were reached. There were 950 respondents. In 2000, the questionnaire was sent to 1534 students and there were 807 responses. In 2001, the questionnaire was sent to 1473 students and there were 801 responses.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

57 in 1999, 52 in 2000 and 54 in 2001.

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

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD1220 Students at the University of Turku 1999

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The data do not contain responses to all questions of the 1999 questionnaire. The variable identifying student number 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

Mäkinen, Jarkko (University of Turku) & Mäkinen, Mirka (University of Turku): Students at the University of Turku 1999-2001 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2003-09-29). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1223

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

Mäkinen, Mirka & Olkinuora, Erkki (2001). Opiskellen matkalla asiantuntijuuteen: selvitys Turun yliopiston toisen vuoden opiskelijoiden opiskelukokemuksista. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Turun yliopiston rehtorinviraston julkaisusarja; 2.

Mäkinen, Mirka (1999). Ensimmäiset puoli vuotta: Turun yliopiston ulkoisen vaikuttavuuden arviointikysely uusille opiskelijoille. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Turun yliopiston rehtorinviraston julkaisusarja; 3.

Mäkinen, Mirka (2001). Aikuisena aloittaneet: yliopiston ei-traditionaaliset opiskelijat. Teoksessa: Tarkasteluja aikuiskoulutuksen kentiltä (toim. Tarita Ruoholinna), s. 87 - 102. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Turun yliopiston kasvatustieteiden tiedekunnan julkaisuja A; 193.

Mäkinen, Jarkko & Olkinuora, Erkki & Lonka, Kirsti (2002). Orientations to Studying in Finnish higher education: comparison of study orientations in university and vocational higher education. Teoksessa: Perspectives on the age of the information society (ed. E. Pantzar), 51-60. Tampere: Tampere University Press.

Mäkinen, Jarkko & Olkinuora, Erkki (2002). Mitä mielessä yliopisto-opiskelun alkumetreillä? Ensimmäisen vuoden opiskelijoiden yleisorientaatiot. Kasvatus 33(1), 21-33.

Mäkinen, Jarkko (2001). Tarvitaanko yliopistossa kulttuuripääomaa? Peda-forum 8(2), 33-35.

Mäkinen, Jarkko (2000). Millä motivaatiolla yliopistoon? Ensimmäisen vuoden opiskelijoiden opiskeluorientaatiot. Teoksessa: Kasvatus tulevaisuuteen - Pedagogik för framtiden (toim. J. Sjöberg & S.-E. Hansén), 174-192. Åbo: Åbo Akademi. Rapporter från Pedagogiska fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi; 22/2000.

Mäkinen, J. (2003). University Students´ general study orientations: theoretical background, measurements, and practical implications. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Turun Yliopiston Julkaisuja Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, Sarja - Ser. B; 262.

Mäkinen-Streng, Mirka (2012). Päämääriä, ajelehtimista, tietämättömyyttä, etsintää. Koulutusvalinnat, opinnot ja koulutuksen vaihtaminen yliopisto-opiskelijoiden kokemana 2000-luvun taitteessa. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Turun yliopiston julkaisuja. Sarja C; osa 333. Scripta lingua Fennica edita. URN:ISBN:978-951-29-4910-6