Study title

Journalism Students' Survey 2015

Dataset ID Number

FSD3155

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3155
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3155

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Mäenpää, Jenni (University of Tampere. Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET))

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Ahva, Laura (University of Tampere. Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET))
• Lehtonen, Pauliina (University of Tampere. School of Social Sciences and Humanities)

Abstract

The Journalism Students' Survey 2015 was part of an international comparative study entitled Journalism Students Across the Globe (JSG), which was conducted simultaneously in more than 30 countries. In Finland, six educational institutions that provide studies in journalism were selected to participate. International comparisons enable, among others, to examine how organizational and cultural influences affect the future journalists' views of their occupation. The Finnish study was funded by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.

The respondents were first asked what their preferred field (e.g. journalism, advertising, research) was after studies, where they wanted to work (e.g. newspaper, television, radio, freelancer), and how interested they were in specialising in different areas (e.g. politics, sports, science). Work experience (including internship) in journalism was surveyed. The respondents were also asked what had motivated them to study their degree and how important they considered various functions of the media in their future work.

Opinions on the overall performance of different types of media was charted as well as major problems facing quality journalism in Finland. Regarding ethical standards, the respondents were asked whether they thought certain ethically problematic courses of action could be justified or not when covering a news story.

Concerning journalism and communication education in Finland, the respondents were requested to assess the quality of academic training and asked whether they thought it necessary for a good journalist to have studied journalism at university level. Finally, the respondents' media use was investigated.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, university/polytechnic, year of study, and interest in politics as well as the economic conditions of R's childhood family, and whether R wanted to pursue a career as a journalist.

Keywords

communication personnel; identity; journalism; journalism studies; journalists; mass media; occupational choice; professional ethics; students (college); tertiary education

Topic Classification

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

• Mäenpää, Jenni (University of Tampere. Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET))

Time Period Covered

2015

Collection Dates

2015-01-13 – 2015-04-07

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Students of journalism in Finnish higher education institutions (excluding multiform education)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

Finnish higher education institutions that offered journalism education were chosen for the study (University of Tampere, University of Jyväskylä, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, and Swedish School of Social Science / University of Helsinki). All these institutions offered studies in journalism which provided the graduates with the skills needed to work in the field of journalism.

To study possible differences in views between students who had begun studies at different times, the aim was to draw a sample consisting of as many students as possible from different classes.

Based on estimates, there were approximately 800 journalism students who were eligible for the survey when the survey was conducted. Altoghether, 265 answers were received, and the response rate was 34.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

34

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

The study conducted in Finland is a part of a wider international comparative study called Journalism Students Across the Globe (JSG), which is conducted simultaneously in more than 30 countries. The questionnaire used in the Finnish study is a translation based on the original English questionnaire. The Finnish data will be later used to make international comparisons.

Responses to variable "[q17luok] How old are you?" were categorised into wider categories during archiving to minimise the risk of identification. Variable "[q22_2] Have you done any other vocational studies before your studies in journalism? If yes, enter your degree and the institution where you studied. (open-ended)" was removed because it contained identifiers. In addition, string variables q4 and q5 were removed and new numerical variables q4_1 - q4_6 and q5_1 - q5_10 were created.

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

Mäenpää, Jenni (University of Tampere): Journalism Students' Survey 2015 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2017-08-17). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3155

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

Mäenpää, Jenni (2015) Tulevaisuuden toimittajat - Journalistiopiskelijoille suunnatun surveyn tuloksia Suomesta. Tutkimusraportti. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto, Journalismin, viestinnän ja median tutkimuskeskus COMET, Viestinnän, median ja teatterin yksikkö.

Related Publications

Mäenpää, Jenni & Ahva, Laura (2017) Opiskelu ja työelämä journalistin ammattiin sosiaalistajina Työkokemukseen perustuva vertailu: tulokkaat, vakiintuvat ja konkarit. Media & viestintä 40, 1-2, 1-23. Saatavilla: https://journal.fi/mediaviestinta/article/view/64978

Mäenpää, Jenni (2015): Tulevaisuuden toimittajat. Journalistiopiskelijoille suunnatun surveyn tuloksia Suomesta. Tutkimusraportti open access -verkkojulkaisuna TamPubissa. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-44-9940-1.