Study title

Social Media Work in Evangelical Lutheran Parishes 2012

Dataset ID Number

FSD3081

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3081

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Ketola, Kimmo (Church Research Institute)
• Hintsala, Meri-Anna (Church Research Institute)

Abstract

The survey charted social media work done in the Evangelical Luther Church of Finland, as well as social media skills and attitudes towards social media.

The survey began with questions on the respondents' use of social media and the Internet both in their work and in their leisure time. The respondents were also asked why they began working in social media and whether the time reserved for social media work was sufficient. Next, they were asked about the type of social media work that their parish did. The choices included: live streaming of church services, online discussions on the Internet in different forums, and contacting the youth, for example, through Facebook.

Next, the survey charted respondent views on who in the church should be responsible for different types of social media work, such as building new social media services or marketing them. The respondents' views on social media education provided by the church were also studied. Those who had not participated in the social media education were asked why not. One question focused on what kind of support the respondents would like to have for social media work.

In the next part, attitudes and experiences regarding web-based work and social media were investigated. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed a number of statement covering, for example, work community attitudes towards web-based work, interaction on the Internet, different ways of using social media, and motivation for social media use.

The background variables included the respondents' age, gender, size of the parish, the type of municipality they worked in, the time they had worked for the church and their occupation. The respondents were also asked how often they read the Bible and prayed, and how conservative or liberal they felt their theological views were. Furthermore, the respondents were asked how much of their spiritual framework was influenced by revivalist movements and other religious movements within the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Keywords

church; internet; internet use; religion; religious personnel; social media

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Information society (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

• Church Research Institute

Time Period Covered

2012

Collection Dates

2012-03-20 – 2012-04-09

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

The personnel of the Evangelical Luther Church of Finland whose e-mail addresses could be found from evl.fi web-page.

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Systematic random

Email-addresses of Evangelical Luther Church of Finland personnel, ending in evl.fi, were listed alphabetically and every fourth address was chosen for the survey. The link to the survey was sent to 3,930 respondents, of whom 916 (23.3%) answered on time.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

23.3

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

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variable q3, "working diocese" has been removed from the data during archiving, due to risk of identification.

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

Ketola, Kimmo (Church Research Institute) & Hintsala, Meri-Anna (Church Research Institute): Social Media Work in Evangelical Lutheran Parishes 2012 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2016-07-28). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3081

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

Hintsala, Meri-Anna & Ketola, Kimmo (2012). Kohtaamista vai oikeaa tietoa? Kirkon työntekijöiden kokemuksia työstä sosiaalisessa mediassa [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. http://sakasti.evl.fi/julkaisut.nsf/3CF6215F1239A1D3C2257E2E0012D51E/$FILE/www31.pdf [viitattu 15.9.2016].

Related Publications

Hintsala, Meri-Anna & Ketola, Kimmo (2012). Kohtaamista vai oikeaa tietoa? Kirkon työntekijöiden kokemuksia työstä sosiaalisessa mediassa [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 31. http://sakasti.evl.fi/julkaisut.nsf/3CF6215F1239A1D3C2257E2E0012D51E/$FILE/www31.pdf [viitattu 15.9.2016]