Study title

Presidential Elections 2006 and Democracy Indicators

Dataset ID Number

FSD2131

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2131

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University)
• Paloheimo, Heikki (University of Tampere)

Abstract

This election survey was fielded after the first round of the presidential elections in Finland in January 2006. First, the respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with statements relating to political leadership, presidential powers, democracy, and use of referendums. The respondents were also asked whether they had voted in the first round of the presidential elections, and if they had, who they had voted for. Second and third preferences were charted. Further questions covered whether the political party or the candidate had been more important in their choice of candidate, and whether the respondent had constantly supported the candidate (s)he had voted for.

The respondents were asked whether there were candidates they would never have voted for, and when they decided who to vote for in the first round. One question explored to what extent certain factors (e.g. the candidate's party, language skills, character, campaign, opinions on presidential powers and role) had influenced their choice of candidate. Views were probed on the extent to which the media had covered issues like candidate goals, policies of political parties on presidential powers, the outcome of the first round etc. The respondents were asked how often they had seen, heard or read of pre-election poll results, and how often they had discussed these results with other people. Influence of pre-election poll results on vote choice was studied. Some questions charted the respondents' political knowledge. Finally, the respondents were asked which of the two remaining candidates they would vote for if the second round of the presidential elections were held at that time.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, education, household composition, region (NUTS3) of residence, major region (NUTS2), constituency, type of municipality, what political party R would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time, and what party R had voted for in the 2004 municipal elections.

Keywords

political power; presidential candidates; presidential elections; 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

• TNS Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Ministry of Justice, Citizen Participation Policy Programme

Time Period Covered

2006

Collection Dates

2006-01-17 – 2006-01-20

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 18 or over living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

Quota sampling based on gender, age, and region of residence.

Collection Mode

Telephone 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: 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 the respondent's municipality of residence 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): Presidential Elections 2006 and Democracy Indicators [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2131

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

Paloheimo, Heikki (2007). Kansalaisten johtajuusodotukset. Teoksessa: Presidentinvaalit 2006 (toim. Pekka Isotalus & Sami Borg), 207-226. Helsinki: WSOY.

Borg, Sami (2007). Vaalitulokset ja äänestyspäätökset. Teoksessa: Presidentinvaalit 2006 (toim. Pekka Isotalus & Sami Borg), s. 32-55. Helsinki: WSOY.