Study title

Influencing Policy Making in Municipal Social Work 2017

Dataset ID Number

FSD3364

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3364

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Simola, Jenni (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Abstract

The study charted occupational values and work conditions of Finnish social workers in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, as well as their views on constructive social work and political influencing. First, the respondents were asked how important they personally considered different principles concerning inequality, diversity and equity. It was examined how often the respondents came across situations at work where they had to act against their ethical principles, how often they felt that the way their organisation operated contradicted their personal values, and how often they witnessed problems built into society or their organisation that affected the clients' situations negatively. Additionally, the respondents were asked to assess their own workplace well-being.

Next, it was examined whether the respondents had opportunities in their current work to influence political decision-making, to participate in societal discussions and to impact the organisation's practices. The respondents were also asked to assess how important they considered being able to influence different aspects of political decision-making in their work.

The respondents' opinions were charted on which objectives should be prioritised in political influencing by municipal social work organisations. Several questions examined the organisations' attitudes toward political influencing and their preparedness in utilising social workers' expertise in the development of services. The survey also charted the respondents' own interest and experience in political influencing. Finally, attitudinal statements examined the respondents' opinions on the role of social work and reasons behind poverty.

Background variables included year of birth (categorised), field of social work, municipality where the workplace is located, years of experience as a social worker (categorised), years of experience in current job (categorised), type of employment contract, social worker qualification, level of education, year when R had graduated (categorised), and whether R was studying to become a social worker at the time of the survey.

Keywords

equal opportunity; health professions; job satisfaction; local government services; organizations; political influence; professional ethics; social justice; social welfare; social workers; values; welfare policy; working conditions

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social welfare policy (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social change (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

• Simola, Jenni (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Time Period Covered

2017

Collection Dates

2017-02-15 – 2017-06-22

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Social workers in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

The sample included all persons working under the job title "social worker" in the Helsinki Social Services and Healthcare Division, Espoo Social and Health Services, and Vantaa Health and Social Welfare Department. In total, this comprised 844 persons. The number of social workers were received from data collection contact persons in the municipalities, who were persons in development or management positions. The contact persons forwarded the survey to social workers by email. In total, 130 social workers responded to the survey.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

15

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

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, the researcher removed variables denoting gender (k2), in-depth information about studies (k7_2), and major subject in highest degree attained (k8_2). In addition, the researcher categorised year of birth (k1), current job (k3), years of work experience (k4, k5), education (k8_1), year of graduation (k8_3) and current studying (k9).

Further anonymisation measures carried out at FSD were removing open-ended variables of the type "other, please specify" as well as open-ended feedback variables.

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

Simola, Jenni (University of Helsinki): Influencing Policy Making in Municipal Social Work 2017 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-06-09). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3364

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

Simola, Jenni (2018) Yhteiskunnallinen vaikuttamistyö kunnallisessa sosiaalityössä. Sosiaalityön Pro gradu -tutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto, Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:hulib-201805292139