Study title

Employment Survey of Joensuu University Graduates 2003-2006

Dataset ID Number

FSD2539

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2539

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Puhakka, Antero (University of Joensuu)
• Rautopuro, Juhani (University of Joensuu)
• Tuominen, Visa (University of Joensuu)

Abstract

The survey charted the employment situation and job placement of persons who had graduated from the University of Joensuu with a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts or equivalent degree during the years 2003-2006. Other main themes included the degree obtained, unemployment periods and views on the quality of the university education received.

The first theme focused on the respondents' studies. Questions covered the degree completed, duration of studies (in months), number of credit points, grade obtained for the thesis, other degrees completed and whether the respondent had obtained work experience relevant to the field of study during studies.

Employment was investigated by asking about the respondent's employment situation at the time and after graduation, type of employer, type of contract, type of job and whether their current job was commensurate with their degree. Views were probed on how significant various factors had been for obtaining a job (e.g. the academic degree, main subject, subsidiary subjects, subject of the thesis, work experience, study success, language and computer skills, social networks, own activity, personal characteristics, hobbies etc).

Unemployment was charted by asking whether the respondents had experienced unemployment after graduation and what factors they thought had contributed to their unemployment.

Finally, some questions pertained to what the respondents would do if they were to begin their university studies at that moment (for instance, would they obtain the same degree, or change main or subsidiary subjects, if yes to what subject, or would they not study at a university at all). The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statement relating to the quality of the university education obtained, importance of an academic degree, and whether their studies had been useful for working life.

Background variables included the respondent's year of graduation, gender, year of birth, region of residence (NUTS3) at the time of the survey and before commencing studies at Joensuu University.

Keywords

appointment to job; career development; educational certificates; employment opportunities; graduates; tertiary education (first stage); unemployment

Topic Classification

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

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• Puhakka, Antero (University of Joensuu)
• Rautopuro, Juhani (University of Joensuu)
• Tuominen, Visa (University of Joensuu)

Data Producers

• University of Joensuu

Time Period Covered

2003 – 2007

Collection Dates

2004-04 – 2007-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons who graduated with a lower (B.A. or equivalent) or higher (M.A. or equivalent) degree from the University of Joensuu during 2003-2006

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

Questionnaires were mailed to all persons who had completed their degree during the years 2003-2006 excluding those who had put a ban on the forwarding of their address information and those whose most recent address was abroad. Those who had completed two degrees within one year were mailed only one questionnaire. The questionnaires were sent in April of the year following the graduation year.

There were altogether 1,906 respondents. All potential respondents were sent a postcard reminding of them of the survey roughly a month after the questionnaire had been sent to them. There was a separate follow-up procedure for non-respondents who had graduated in 2005 (they received a reminder letter) which increased response rate compared to other years.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Response Rate

62 (for those who graduated between 2003-2005)

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

3.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The archive has no information on the number of questionnaires sent in 2006. Therefore, response rate is reported only for the years 2003-2005.

Variables corresponding to questions 9c, 18 and 23 in the questionnaire are missing from the data. Variables identifying municipality of residence, university department, main subjects, and field of specialization have been removed.

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

Puhakka, Antero (University of Joensuu) & Rautopuro, Juhani (University of Joensuu) & Tuominen, Visa (University of Joensuu): Employment Survey of Joensuu University Graduates 2003-2006 [dataset]. Version 3.0 (2019-01-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2539

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 Materials

Aineiston kunta- ja maakuntaluokitukset perustuvat Tilastokeskuksen alueluokituksiin (www.stat.fi).

Puhakka, Antero & Rautopuro, Juhani & Tuominen, Visa (2007). Vastavalmistuneet - Joensuun yliopistosta vuosina 2003-2005 valmistuneiden kandidaattien ja maistereiden työllistyminen. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopisto. Hallintoviraston raportteja ja selvityksiä; 44.

Related Publications

Puhakka, Antero & Rautopuro, Juhani & Tuominen, Visa (2007). Vastavalmistuneet: Joensuun yliopistosta vuosina 2003-2005 valmistuneiden kandidaattien ja maistereiden työllistyminen. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopisto. Hallintoviraston raportteja ja selvityksiä; 44.

Puhakka, Antero & Rautopuro, Juhani & Tuominen, Visa (2008). Maistereiden ylikoulutusta kartoittamassa. Tiedepolitiikka, 33(2), 7-16.

Puhakka, Antero & Rautopuro, Juhani & Tuominen, Visa (2009). Varhainen mato linnun nappaa? Opiskeluajan yhteys vastavalmistuneiden maistereiden työmarkkinatilanteeseen. Teoksessa: Kilvoittelusta kilpailuun? Referoitu artikkelikokoelma Korkeakoulututkimuksen juhlasymposiumista 25.-26.8.2008 (toim. Aarrevaara, Timo & Saarinen, Taina), 189-207. Jyväskylä: Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos.

Tuominen, Visa (2012). Sattuma työllistymisessä: maistereiden kokemuksia. Työpoliittinen Aikakauskirja 1/2012,11-20.