Study title

Finnish Youth Survey 2013

Dataset ID Number

FSD2919

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2919

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora)
• Finnish Youth Research Society. Finnish Youth Research Network

Abstract

The theme of the Finnish Youth Survey 2013 was participation, which was studied by investigating young people's voting behaviour, reasons for participation, belonging in communities and views on the possibilities of influencing decision-making.

First, the respondents' views on the importance of different principles, values and aspects of life (e.g. own health, leisure time, national security, human rights) were charted. Relating to civic engagement, the respondents were asked whether they had been involved in political activity in the previous 12 months, whether they had tried to influence issues important to them in the previous 12 months, which reasons had motivated them to act for a cause and which had dissuaded them from acting. Opinions were charted on the various ways of influencing decision-making and policies, whether the respondents themselves had used these ways to influence, whether they had voted in the previous municipal elections and if they had not, the importance of different reasons for not voting. The respondents were also asked how important certain reasons for not voting were to young people in general and what they thought their chances of influencing different things were (e.g. own economic well-being, EU decision-making).

The extent to which the respondents agreed with various statements relating to career and employment was investigated as well as opinions on how much responsibility different bodies and actors should hold for the well-being of Finns. Views on politics, voting and decision-making were studied by charting how much the respondents agreed with a number of statements. Finally, the respondents were asked to what extent they identified with different regions and areas, whether they used social media and how they used it, and whether they participated in the activities of a group or community in their leisure time.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, mother tongue, household composition, country of birth, nationality, identification with a minority group, education level, average grade of the latest report card, economic activity and occupational status, mother's education level and countries of birth of parents.

Keywords

citizen participation; communities; political participation; satisfaction; social influence; social participation; voting; youth; youth culture

Topic Classification

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

Series

Finnish Youth Surveys

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• TNS Gallup Finland

Time Period Covered

2013

Collection Dates

2013-05-17 – 2013-07-14

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Young people aged 15-29 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

A random sample drawn from the population register. The sample size was 22,215 people, out of whom 625 were Swedish-speaking. 7,382 people were contacted, out of whom 5,430 refused to participate and 45 were unable to respond. Additionally, 4 interviews were interrupted as a result of a system interference. 1,802 Finnish-speaking and 100 Swedish-speaking young persons were successfully interviewed. The response rate has been calculated based on the number of successful interviews and the number of people contacted.

Collection Mode

Telephone interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

26

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: English and Finnish.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

216 variables and 1903 cases.

Data Version

3.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variable T3 (the repondent's postal code) was removed from the data during the archiving process. The variable containing information on the respondents' municipalities of residence was coarsened into the statistical grouping of municipalities.

Weighting

The data contain two weight variables, W1 and W2, which were created using a calibration method in order to improve estimation efficiency and to correct non-response bias. The weights are based on the following population distributions: 1) gender, 2) age, 3) major region (NUTS 2) and 4) language. The variable W2 weights the results to match the whole Finnish population (the sum of the weights equals the size of the Finnish population). The variable W1 does not produce this kind of extension (the weighted mean is 1 and the sum equals the number of cases [1,903]). Both variables are based on the same calibration process, only the scale is different.

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

Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora) & Finnish Youth Research Society: Finnish Youth Survey 2013 [dataset]. Version 3.0 (2018-07-25). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2919

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

Myllyniemi, Sami (2014). Vaikuttava osa. Nuorisobarometri 2013. Helsinki: Nuorisotutkimusverkosto. Nuorisotutkimusseura. Nuorisotutkimusseuran julkaisuja; 145 & verkkojulkaisuja; 71.

Rivinoja, Telma (2015). Y-sukupolven työelämäasenteet ja -orientaatiot. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Kasvatustieteiden yksikkö. Pro gradu -tutkielma. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201505201457

Hobbs, Carl (2019). Demokratipreferenser bland finska medborgare : Stöd för representativ demokrati, deltagardemokrati, direktdemokrati och expertdemokrati. Pro gradu-avhandling. Statsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Helsingfors universitet.

Väyrynen, Tuija (2023). Liian nuori äänestämään? Kuntavaaliehdokkaiden näkemyksiä äänestysikärajan laskemisesta. Politiikan tutkimuksen pro gradu -tutkielma. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.