Study title

Parliamentary Elections 2007: the Åland Islands

Alternative Title

Åländsk riksdagsvalundersökning 2007

Dataset ID Number

FSD2432

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2432

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Institute for Finland-Swedish Sociological Research)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Bengtsson, Åsa (Åbo Akademi)
• Bäck, Maria (Åbo Akademi)
• Djupsund, Göran (Åbo Akademi)
• Eriksson, Anders (Åbo Akademi)
• Herberts, Kjell (Åbo Akademi)
• Isaksson, Guy-Erik (Åbo Akademi)
• Sundberg, Jan (Helsingin yliopisto)
• Söderlund, Peter (Åbo Akademi)
• Lindell, Marina (Åbo Akademi)

Abstract

The election survey was conducted in Åland after the 2007 parliamentary elections. It is part of a four-year research project exploring politics in Swedish-speaking Finland (Svensk politik i Finland - beteende, opinion, framtid (2007-2010)).

First, the respondents were queried how interested they were in politics and how much they followed the parliamentary elections in different media. The respondents' identification with various groups, self-perceived social class, and the stability of their political party preference were investigated, as well as what kind of measures they would be willing to take to promote things they considered important.

The respondents were also presented with a set of attitudinal statements on voting, participating in parliamentary elections, political participation, political power, institutions, the Swedish People's Party in Finland, and services provided in Swedish. Some questions pertained to the Internet. The respondents were asked whether they had signed online petitions, contacted political decision-makers, discussed politics, or participated in other discussions.

Municipal elected offices and organisational participation were also charted in the survey. The respondents were also asked to indicate the performance of Matti Vanhanen's Government, and to place different political parties as well as themselves on a left-right scale. Some questions examined how well political parties had distinguished themselves during the election campaign and the functioning of democracy in Finland. In addition, the respondents were asked whether they had voted in the 2007 parliamentary elections, and if not, what the reason for abstaining from voting was. Those who had voted were asked on which election list the candidate they had voted for was, which factors had affected their party choice, and whether the candidate or the party was a more important selection criterion.

The respondents also evaluated how the Government had succeeded in managing the issues related to Swedish-speaking Finns and the status of Åland. Additionally, the respondents indicated which language was spoken at their home, how well they could speak Finnish, and how satisfied they were with their financial situation and life in general.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth (categorised), gender, education, marital status, economic activity, occupational group, household size, household income, municipality of residence (Mariehamn, other), language spoken at home, and religiosity.

Keywords

Internet; Swedish-speaking Finns; constituencies; language; members of parliament; parliamentary candidates; parliamentary elections; political attitudes; political participation; political support; voting; Ålanders

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

• Åbo Akademi University. Institute for Finland-Swedish Sociological Research

Funders

• Society of Swedish Literature in Finland

Time Period Covered

2007

Collection Dates

2007-04-04 – 2007-05-31

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Åland Islands

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Åland residents who have the right to vote

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

The sample of 1,000 people was drawn from the population register of the Finnish Population Register Centre. 459 people responded.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Telephone interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

45.9

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: Swedish.

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

Data Version

2.0

Related Datasets

FSD2431 Parliamentary Elections 2007: Swedish-speaking Finns

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, the following variables were categorised during the archiving process: year of birth q48 and municipality of residence q68.

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

Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University): Parliamentary Elections 2007: the Åland Islands [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2019-01-10). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2432

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

Språk och politisk mobilisering. Finlandssvenskar i publikdemokrati (2011). Redaktör Kimmo Grönlund. Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland.