Study title

Barometer for Swedish-speaking Finns 2008

Alternative Title

Finlandssvenska barometern 2008

Dataset ID Number

FSD3200

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3200

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. 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 and e-mail use.

The survey also investigated the respondents' trust in different organisations such as the government, the church, social services, the universities, the police, and daycare services. The respondents' interest in local government and municipal politics was examined, and they were presented with statements concerning the upcoming 2008 municipal elections and asked whether they were involved in an election campaign either as a candidate or in some other way. It was also queried which party they usually voted for, if they would vote for the same party in this election, and whether they read blogs written by local councillors and municipal election candidates. The respondents were asked how local councillors should conduct municipal politics and if they felt that citizens are able to participate in decision-making. Some questions covered municipal mergers generally and in the respondents' own municipality.

The next questions were formulated by the "Förvaltningslösningar språkliga konsekvenser" project (SpråKon). Questions covered the respondents' satisfaction in some aspects of their municipality of residence, including the availability of geriatric and healthcare services, schools and education, employment opportunities, public transport, culture and sports services, citizen participation possibilities, equal rights of men and women, safety, and opportunities for entrepreneurship. Finally, the respondents were asked whether they felt that people living in the municipality and neighbourhood -- Finnish-speaking, Swedish-speaking or in general -- share the same values, and which decision-making bodies have done the most to advance employment and entrepreneurship in the municipality.

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

2008

Collection Dates

2008-10 – 2008-11

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 819 filled questionnaires were received.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

41.0

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. Questions 35-38 in the questionnaire formulated by the Centre for Continuing Education at Åbo Akademi University were not included in the data, nor questions 41-44 formulated by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.

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 2008 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2017-11-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3200

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.

FSD has not been informed of any publications related to the data.