Study title

Finnish Municipal Election Candidates 2017: Finnish and Swedish Speakers

Dataset ID Number

FSD3280

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3280

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Sipinen, Josefina (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)
• Kestilä-Kekkonen, Elina (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)
• Tiihonen, Aino (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)
• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)
• Aarnio, Anna-Riikka (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)

Abstract

The study charted the background and motives of Finnish and Swedish speaking election candidates as well as their networks and support for standing for the election.

First, reasons behind the decision to stand for election in the municipal elections (e.g. the will to help others, to acquire useful skills for work, to implement the political values of their party) and what or who (e.g. friends, trade union, employer) had encouraged the candidates to stand for election were charted. The respondents' political opinions and ideology were examined with attitudinal statements regarding the direction of Finland's future, such as lower taxation or more environmentally friendly policies. Influences behind the respondents' political opinions were also examined (e.g. how important their friends, spouse or the media were in influencing their opinions). The respondents were asked whose representative they thought they would be as local councillors (e.g. those who had voted for them or all residents of the municipality), their satisfaction in democracy in Finland and their municipality as well as trust in various institutions (e.g. current local councillors, Finland's government).

The respondents' political campaign was surveyed with questions concerning, for example, how much time and money they had spent on the campaign and how the funding had been spent (e.g. for campaign videos or radio/TV advertising). The respondents were asked whether they had stood for election in various different elections before, whether they had been selected in those elections and how many times. The factors behind them being chosen as a candidate of a party or constituency association (e.g. professional experience, position within the party, extensive local network of acquaintances) were examined. The respondents were also asked whether they currently held or had previously held positions of trust in their municipality of residence or participated in the work of different organisations. Finally, the help and support the respondents received from their family, friends or acquaintances in different aspects of their political campaign (e.g. coordinating schedule and budget, maintaining social media accounts, emotional support) was charted.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, level of education, marital status, household composition, length of residence in the municipality of candidacy, type of municipality, occupational status, trade union membership, left-right political self-placement, income, perceived social class and religious affiliation.

Keywords

election campaign financing; electoral candidates; local government elections; political behaviour; political campaigns; political parties; politics

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Elections (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (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

• Tampere University

Time Period Covered

2017

Collection Dates

2017-03-22 – 2017-04-08

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish and Swedish speaking municipal election candidates 2017

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Systematic random

After the candidates for the municipal election 2017 were confirmed, their personal identity codes, stored in the candidate register, were given to the Population Register Centre by the Ministry of Justice. Based on the identity codes, the Population Register Centre selected a 3,000 person sample from among the Finnish, Swedish and Sami speaking candidates. The candidates were sent a letter of invitation to participate in the study. A total of 1,010 candidates responded to the survey.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

33.7

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

Related Datasets

FSD3281 Finnish Municipal Election Candidates 2017: Foreign Language Speakers

FSD3622 Finnish Municipal Election Candidates 2021

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of individuals, responses to variable q6 (year of joining party) were classified into five-year groups until 2011, and thereafter each year forms its own category. In variable q37 denoting year of birth, the years were first turned into the corresponding ages and then classified into age groups. In variable q40_3, the highest classes denoting number of small children were reclassified into larger classes, and in variable q48 denoting income, the responses were classified to prevent identification. Variable q34 (municipality of candidacy) was removed, because leaving it in the data would have required heavy anonymisation in the other variables, significantly impacting the usability of the data. Additionally, variables q35 (candidate number), q47 (trade union), q51 (religious affiliation) and open ended variables q2_13_1 (what other groups encouraged you to stand for election), q16 (which groups do you think you represent) and q32_16_1 (which other organisation's work have you participated in) have been removed from the data. The open-ended responses left in the data have been anonymised if necessary. Changes made were marked with [square brackets].

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

Sipinen, Josefina (University of Tampere) & Kestilä-Kekkonen, Elina (University of Tampere) & Tiihonen, Aino (University of Tampere) & Borg, Sami (University of Tampere) & Aarnio, Anna-Riikka (University of Tampere): Finnish Municipal Election Candidates 2017: Finnish and Swedish Speakers [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2019-10-15). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3280

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

Sipinen, Josefina (2019): Ulkomaalaistaustaiset ehdokkaat kuntavaaleissa 2017. Teoksessa: Kazi, Villiina & Alitolppa-Niitamo, Anne & Kaihovaara, Antti (toim.) Kotoutumisen kokonaiskatsaus 2019: Tutkimusartikkeleita kotoutumisesta. TEM oppaat ja muut julkaisut 2019:10. Helsinki: Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö. ISBN 978-952-327-487-7.

Related Publications

Kestilä-Kekkonen Elina, Sipinen Josefina, Borg Sami, Tiihonen Aino & Wass Hanna (2018). Kuntademokratiaindikaattorit 2017 [verkkodokumentti]. Oikeusministeriön selvityksiä ja ohjeita 6/2018. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö. http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/160579 [viitattu 28.10.2019].

Sipinen, Josefina (2019): Ulkomaalaistaustaiset ehdokkaat kuntavaaleissa 2017. Teoksessa: Kazi, Villiina & Alitolppa-Niitamo, Anne & Kaihovaara, Antti (toim.) Kotoutumisen kokonaiskatsaus 2019: Tutkimusartikkeleita kotoutumisesta. TEM oppaat ja muut julkaisut 2019:10. Helsinki: Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö. ISBN 978-952-327-487-7