Study title

Barometer for Swedish-speaking Finns 2007

Alternative Title

Finlandssvenska barometern 2007

Dataset ID Number

FSD3199

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3199
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3199

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, 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 contexts, e.g. at home, at school, with friends, at bureaus and banks, and at work. They were also asked which language was or would be their children's language at school. 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 and tax offices.

The next questions concerned media, the press, radio, and television. The respondents were asked if they had a digital TV receiver in their household, and their preferred newspapers, radio stations and television channels were surveyed, as well as their internet use. 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/theatre, working overtime, helping neighbours, and praying to God).

One set of questions pertained to politics and society, and the respondents' interest and activity in political matters was examined. They were asked about their party preferences and if they had participated in or discussed politics in different ways within the previous year. Views were also surveyed on democracy within the EU, Finland, the respondent's region of residence and the municipality of residence. Finally, the respondents' views on ways to influence municipal politics and the effects of municipal mergers were examined, and the respondents were asked what type of topics they were interested in discussing with friends and other people.

Background variables included, for instance, region of residence, 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 activities; 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

2007

Collection Dates

2007-10 – 2007-11

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People residing in Finland (including Åland) between the ages 18 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 2,000 persons from people residing in Finland who had Swedish as their registered mother tongue. A total of 1,188 filled questionnaires were received.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

59.4

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 data does not include questions formulated by Fairtrade Finland (questions 40-43 in the questionnaire) or questions by Svenska hörselförbundet rf (44-45).

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 2007 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2017-11-06). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3199; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3199

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.