Study title

Barometer for Swedish-speaking Finns, Spring 2002

Alternative Title

Finlandssvenska barometern våren 2002

Dataset ID Number

FSD3193

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3193

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Herberts, Kjell (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)

Abstract

This study charted the identity of Swedish-speaking Finns and their opinions on various aspects of everyday life, such as politics and society, the use of mass media, leisure time activities, values, identity and the sense of belonging. The study was funded by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland (Svenska kulturfonden).

The first questions revolved around language. The respondents' and their families' Finnish and Swedish language skills were surveyed. It was examined whether the respondents had used Swedish, Finnish or both in different types of situations within the previous year, such as doctor's appointments, vehicle inspections, and visits to the city council, libraries or tax offices. The respondents were also asked whether they preferred not to use Swedish with authorities because they were afraid of receiving hostile service, and if they felt that their errands had not been taken proper care of in the past due to an official's lack of Swedish language skills. The next questions concerned mass media, the press, radio, and television. The respondents' preferred newspapers, radio stations and television channels were surveyed, as well as their internet use.

After this, the respondents were asked if they felt a sense of belonging in various lands and regions, such as Finland, Swedish-speaking Finland, Sweden, the Nordic, and the European Union. The survey also examined the strength of the respondents' cultural identity as a Finland-Swede in different groups of people and situations. It was also asked if the respondents felt a sense of belonging in various groups. The next theme concerned the respondents' political orientation and party preferences. The respondents were asked if they had participated in or discussed politics in different ways within the previous year. The respondents' views were surveyed on democracy within the EU, Finland, the respondent's region of residence, and the respondent's municipality of residence.

The final theme concerned the respondents' values and ways of life. They were asked to evaluate which factors bring happiness to their lives and to estimate how likely the people around them would help in different situations or if they would act in a selfish or even illegal manner. The respondents were also presented with a variety of activities and asked if they had participated in them within the previous 12 months (e.g. playing a sport, going to the movies, working overtime, praying to God, visiting a summer cottage). Finally, the respondents were presented with a set of attitudinal statements about current issues that they were asked to evaluate. The statements concerned, among other subjects, nuclear power, fur production, NATO, adoption rights for same-sex couples, and Swedish as a mandatory school subject.

Background variables included e.g. region, age group, gender, education level, economic activity and occupational status, marital status, and household composition.

Keywords

Swedish-speaking Finns; cultural identity; identity; language; leisure time; mass media; minority groups; minority language users; national identity; politics; press; radio (joukkoviestimet); social systems; television; values

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Cultural and national identity (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Barometers for Swedish-speaking Finns

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (A) openly available for all users without registration (CC BY 4.0).

Data Collector

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

Time Period Covered

2002-01 – 2002-04

Collection Dates

2002-03 – 2002-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People residing in Finland (including Åland) between the ages 15 and 80 who have Swedish as their registered mother tongue.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

The Population Register Centre picked a random sample of 1,500 persons from people residing in Finland who had Swedish as their registered mother tongue. A total of 908 filled questionnaires were received.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

60.5

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

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Responses to open-ended questions were categorised or removed from the data. Two variables, municipality of residence and birth year, were categorised to prevent identification. In the "number of children in the household" variable, values of four and over were categorised into a single category. The variables measuring radio listening and television watching times in minutes were categorised into eight categories.

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

Herberts, Kjell (Åbo Akademi University): Barometer for Swedish-speaking Finns, Spring 2002 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2017-10-04). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3193

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

Opinioner och trender i svenskfinland (2008). Toim. Herberts, Kjell. Vaasa: Åbo Akademi. Institutet för finlandssvensk samhällsforskning

Related Publications

Opinioner och trender i svenskfinland (2008). Toim. Herberts, Kjell. Vaasa: Åbo Akademi. Institutet för finlandssvensk samhällsforskning.