Study title

EVA Survey on Finnish Values and Attitudes Autumn 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3305

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3305
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3305

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA)

Abstract

The survey charted the values and attitudes of Finnish people. The main themes of the autumn 2018 survey included social services reformation, immigration, trust in different actors in Finnish society, recent societal changes, security and Finland's foreign policy.

First, the respondents were presented with attitudinal statements regarding different spheres of society, for instance, public services, immigration, the Finnish workforce, NATO membership, Russia and the United States, climate policy, the functionality of democracy, and whether politicians care about ordinary people's lives and opinions.

As regards reforming social services and welfare, respondents' opinions were charted on, for instance, the gratuitousness of welfare, basic security, universal basic income, and the funding and level of social benefits. Views on immigration were charted with attitudinal statements regarding, for instance, strictness of Finnish policy on aliens, social benefits received by immigrants, increased crime due to immigrants, and immigration as an aid to shortage of workforce.

Next, the respondents' views were examined on equality and their own position in Finnish society (e.g. in occupational life, as a taxpayer, in the eyes of authorities). Their trust in different types of actors in society was also charted (e.g. Parliament, church, judicial system, police, enterprises, banks, social media, Wikipedia, the market economy, newspaper press, Google). In addition, the respondents were asked to estimate whether Finland had changed positively or negatively in the previous 10 years in different areas (e.g. Finland's position in Europe, democracy, disparity in income and well-being, standard of education, social security). The next questions charted the respondents' views on the severity of different threats, e.g. armed attack against Finland, cyber attacks, terrorist attack, financial crisis, foreign efforts to interfere with Finnish elections, global warming, pandemic diseases, being a victim of violence. The respondents were asked to evaluate how well different actors (e.g. president, prime minister, foreign minister, the current Government) had handled foreign policy. Finally, the respondents' views on Finland's EU membership and the Euro were examined as well as how the respondents would vote if a referendum were held on Finland's EU membership.

Background variables included gender, age group, type of municipality of residence, region of residence, education level, economic activity and occupational status, type of employer, occupational sector, type of contract, political party preference (which party R would vote for if parliamentary elections were held at the time of the survey), federation of trade unions membership, and self-perceived social class.

Keywords

foreign policy; immigration; personal safety; social change; social security; social status; social structure; social welfare finance; trust; values

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social change (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social welfare policy (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Migration (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

EVA Surveys on Finnish Values and Attitudes

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-09-24 – 2018-10-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons aged 18-70 residing in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

Respondents of the survey were randomly drawn among the internet panel of Taloustutkimus to form a sample representative of the Finnish population aged 18-70 (excluding the Åland Islands) with respect to age, gender, region of residence, education and occupation/occupational status. Invitations to respond to the survey were sent to the target group by email, and the respondents filled out a dynamic questionnaire in a protected online environment provided by Taloustutkimus. During data collection, four reminder emails to respond were sent purposively to people in different groups who had not yet responded or had not finished responding: 18-34-year-old males on 27 September 2018, 35-49-year-old females on 27 September 2018, 50-64-year-old females on 28 September 2018, and 18-34-year-olds on 1 October 2018. In total, 2009 filled questionnaires were received, whereas 8000 invitations to respond were sent. During the analysis stage of the research, the data were weighted at Taloustutkimus to correspond to the Finnish population aged 18-70 according to the respondent's age, gender, type of residental area, education, occupational status, employment sector, and political party preference (which party R would vote for in parliamentary elections).

The internet panel of Taloustutkimus, randomly drawn from Finland's population register, consists of citizens aged 15-79 who have entered their demographic and sociographic information when registering to the panel and have given their consent to Taloustutkimus to invite them to participate in various surveys. Responding to any survey is voluntary and participants can leave the panel any time they want.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

25

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: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

171 variables and 2009 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

During the archiving process, open-ended responses to the comment field at the end of the questionnaire were removed from the data.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable (paino) which weights the data to be representative of the Finnish population aged 18-70 in terms of age, gender, type of residential area, education, occupational status, occupational sector, and political party preference.

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

Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA): EVA Survey on Finnish Values and Attitudes Autumn 2018 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2019-03-06). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3305

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

Metelinen, Sami (2018). Suomen Nato-jäsenyyden kannatus on pysynyt likimain ennallaan [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. https://www.eva.fi/blog/2018/11/28/suomen-nato-jasenyyden-kannatus-on-pysynyt-likimain-ennallaan/ [viitattu 19.12.2018].

Metelinen, Sami (2018). Ulkopolitiikan johtotähti. Maailmanpolitiikan aallokossa suomalaiset luottavat presidentin suuntavaistoon. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA-analyysi. https://www.eva.fi/blog/2018/11/23/89-suomalaisista-antaa-presidentille-hyvan-arvosanan-ulkopolitiikan-hoidosta-hallituksen-arvosana-huonontunut/ [viitattu 19.12.2018].

Haavisto, Ilkka (2019). Politiikan pudotus. Valtioon luotetaan mutta poliittisia toimijoita epäillään [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA Arvio 15. https://www.eva.fi/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/eva-arvio-015.pdf [viitattu 4.12.2019].

Haavisto, Ilkka (2019). Härmä sulaa. Suomalaisten maahanmuuttoasenteet pehmenevät, mutta muutos on hidas [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA Analyysi 68. https://www.eva.fi/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/eva_analyysi_no_68-1.pdf [viitattu 4.12.2019].

Hautamäki, Tuomas (2020). Suomalaisten suhtautuminen maahanmuuttoon ja ulkomaalaisiin. Oulu: Oulun yliopisto, luonnontieteellinen tiedekunta, matematiikka. Kandidaatintyö. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202005302247

Alpimaa, Markku (2020) Talouspoliittiset asennemuutokset Suomessa vuosina 1984-2020 EVA:n arvo- ja asennetutkimusten valossa. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiologian pro gradu -tutkielma. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20201223102803

Vartiainen, Ida (2022). Politisk medvetenhet och rally-round-the-flag: Styrkan av rally-round-the-flag-fenomenet för väljare med olika grad av politisk medvetenhet under coronakrisen i Finland. Valtiotieteiden kandidaattitutkielma. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto.

Vartiainen, Iiris (2023). Suomalaisten asenteet sosiaaliturvaa ja sen vastikkeellisuutta kohtaan. Yhteiskuntatutkimuksen kandidaatintutkielma. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.

Kujanpää, Emmiliina (2024). Suomalaiset haluavat hyvinvointivaltion, mutta kustannukset voisi mieluusti maksaa joku muu [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA Artikkeli 24.8.2024. https://www.eva.fi/blog/2024/08/24/suomalaiset-haluavat-hyvinvointivaltion-mutta-kustannukset-voisi-mieluusti-maksaa-joku-muu/ [viitattu 30.8.2024].

Metelinen, Sami (2024). Suomalaiset tyytyväisiä euroon - poliitikot halutaan pitää loitolla rahapolitiikasta [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA Artikkeli 4.6.2024. https://www.eva.fi/blog/2024/06/04/suomalaiset-tyytyvaisia-euroon-poliitikot-halutaan-pitaa-loitolla-rahapolitiikasta/ [viitattu 3.9.2024].