Study title

Barometer for Swedish-speaking Finns 2009

Alternative Title

Finlandssvenska barometern 2009

Dataset ID Number

FSD3201

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3201
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3201

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 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 respondents were presented with a set of statements about bilingualism and using the Swedish language in Finland, and they were asked if attitudes toward the Swedish language in different contexts -- such as at work, in politics, and in media -- had changed within the previous year. It was queried whether Swedish-language service offered by the state and municipality had improved or worsened within the previous year, as well as Swedish-language service in the private sector.

The next questions covered media, the press, radio, and television. The respondents were asked if they listened to radio or watched television in the morning, and their choice of radio station or television channel in the morning was queried along with the topics of particular interest to them on morning television. In addition, it was examined which newspapers the respondents read, either printed or online, and if they had downloaded radio or television programmes, films, books, video games, magazines or newspapers from the internet within the previous 12 months. It was also queried whether they had written or read blogs or used social media services designed for Swedish-speaking Finns or other social media services. Finally, opinions were examined on reading newspapers and books exclusively on digital devices.

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, and whether or not the respondents felt a sense of belonging in various groups. They were also asked to estimate how likely the people around them would help in a variety of situations or if they would act in a selfish or even illegal manner.

One set of questions pertained to the environment and climate change. The respondents were asked what they already did to reduce their carbon footprint (e.g. sorting waste, cycling or using public transport instead of driving a car), what they would be willing to do for a better environment (e.g. paying more taxes, lowering their personal standard of living), which sources of carbon emissions should be controlled more harshly, and what factors they deemed as the most significant threats to the seas. Finally, the respondents were asked which aspects they deemed important in their personal well-being, e.g. health, steady personal finances, friends and family, a person's appearance, nature, a meaningful job, and politics.

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

2009

Collection Dates

2009-10 – 2009-11

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 2,500 persons from people residing in Finland who had Swedish as their registered mother tongue. A total of 1,064 filled questionnaires were received.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

42.6

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.

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 2009 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2018-01-09). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3201

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 Publications

Sandberg Siv (2020). Samhörighet och identitet: Stabila mönster och några överraskningar. Teoksessa Lindell Marina (red.) (2020): Vad tycker Svenskfinland? Resultat från den finlandssvenska medborgarpanelen Barometern 2019-2020. Institutet för samhällsforskning (Samforsk). Åbo: Åbo Akademi, s. 31-36. https://www.barometern.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Vad-tycker-svenskfinland_2020.pdf