Study title

Finnish National Election Study 2019

Alternative Title

CSES

Dataset ID Number

FSD3467

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3467
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3467

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Borg, Sami (Tampere University. Faculty of Management and Business)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• The following members of the election study consortium participated in questionnaire design (in addition to Sami Borg): Aino Tiihonen (Tampere University), Peter Söderlund (Åbo Akademi University) and Kim Strandberg (Åbo Akademi University).
• Current (1.1.2018-31.12.2021) members of the board of the election study consortium are: Kimmo Grönlund (chair, Åbo Akademi University), Åsa von Schoultz (University of Helsinki), Sami Borg (Tampere University), Hanna Wass (University of Helsinki), Elina Kestilä-Kekkonen (Tampere University) and Kim Strandberg (Åbo Akademi University).

Abstract

This survey focused on the 2019 parliamentary elections in Finland. Main themes included political participation, political attitudes, party allegiance, candidate and party choice, and voting behaviour. Further topics included citizens' initiative, different ways of having a say in matters, and future prospects of Finland. The data were collected after the elections through face-to-face interviews and a self-administered drop-off questionnaire. The interview data contain Finland's contribution to the international CSES study (module 5). Data collection was funded by the Ministry of Justice.

First questions in the interview covered the respondents' interest in politics, attention paid to media coverage of the elections (including social media), Internet use, discussions about politics with others, party identification and self-perceived social class. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with some statements relating to voting, democracy, the electoral system, and decision-making. Willingness to influence things by own activity (for instance, by participating in a demonstration or joining a consumer boycott) was charted as well as membership in a political party. Concerning citizens' initiative, the respondents were asked whether they thought the introduction of the initiative had promoted democracy in Finland and whether they had signed any initiatives. Opinions on the importance of the Internet and social media as channels of civic engagement were surveyed.

The survey also carried a set of attitudinal statements on voting, politics, political parties, politicians and public political influence (e.g. 'I have no say in what the Government and Parliament decide' or 'By voting, ordinary people can influence political decision-making'). With regard to the future prospects of Finland, the respondents were asked which future directions they thought sounded good or bad (e.g. 'more entrepreneurship and market economy', 'better equality between men and women').

The CSES module first explored the respondents' opinions on politicians and their actions, and immigration. Views on whether various factors contributed to being truly Finnish, whether corruption was widespread among politicians, whether the Government should take measures to bridge the income gap, and whether it made a difference who was in power or who people voted for were also charted. The respondents were asked to place themselves and the parties on a left-right axis. Questions also covered satisfaction with democracy in Finland and whether the respondents felt close to any party. Voting behaviour was studied with questions on whether the respondents had voted, the candidate of which party they had voted for, whether they had considered voting for a candidate of any other party and if yes, which party, whether they had voted in the previous parliamentary elections and which party they had voted for. Opinions on the parties in general as well as individual party leaders were surveyed. Finally, the respondents' factual knowledge of politics was tested with a few questions.

Non-voters were asked why they had not voted and how self-evident not voting had been to them. All those who had voted were asked what had influenced their choice of party, to what extent various issues had influenced their candidate choice, whether they had voted for a candidate who was of the same age and gender as themselves, and when they had decided which candidate and party to vote for. Trust in government and other institutions, groups and people was charted as well as views on the performance of the Government in the previous electoral term.

The self-administered questionnaire first surveyed the respondents' opinions on how easy it was to detect how the policy objectives of parties differed, how well the previous Government had handled various issues, and which issues they had found interesting in election campaigns. The respondents were also asked to what extent they agreed with a set of statements concerning current political issues (e.g. that Finland should leave the EU, Finland is too eager to meet the EU's environment and climate goals, and the right of same-sex couples to marry or adopt is a good thing) and the parliamentary elections (e.g. whether electoral legislation was unfair to smaller parties and voting had been made easy). The sources from which the respondents got relevant information for their voting choice were examined (e.g. family or friends, newspapers, TV, social media), and the respondents were asked whether they had noticed any forms of electoral disruption in the elections as well as whether they thought various forms of electoral disruption were possible in future elections.

Online voting and political activities and participation on the Internet were charted, as well as time spent on following news and other programmes on politics and topical issues. The extent to which the respondents came across different political opinions, news and other information on the Internet was studied. Other topics included views on whether male or female politicians were better able to work in various policy sectors and opinions on the decision-making process of Finnish political parties as well as on whether promises had been fulfilled by parties after the 2015 parliamentary elections. The respondents' perceptions of their own financial situation and the Finnish economy and employment situation were also charted, as well as their satisfaction with their own life. Finally, personality traits of the respondents were surveyed using the Ten-item personality inventory (TIPI).

Variables beginning with 'k' are national election study variables, 'q' denotes CSES variables, 'p' denotes variables in the self-administered questionnaire, 'a' denotes CSES administrative variables and 'd' denotes background variables.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's year of birth, gender, education, marital status, health status, trade union membership, economic activity and occupational status, employer type, unemployment periods, religiosity and religious attendance, mother tongue, gross annual household income, number of people in the household, type of neighbourhood/municipality, and electoral district.

Keywords

Internet; constituencies; democracy; election campaigns; elections; electoral candidates; mass media; members of parliament; parliamentary elections; political allegiance; political attitudes; political participation; trust; voting

Topic Classification

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

Series

Finnish National Election Studies

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Data Producers

• Election Study Consortium

Time Period Covered

2019

Collection Dates

• 2019-04-17 – 2019-07-15
• 2019-09-25 – 2019-10-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People living in Finland and entitled to vote in the Finnish parliamentary elections in 2019 (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

The sample was drawn with the help of quota sampling, in which the quotas were based on NUTS3 region of residence, type of municipality of residence, mother tongue, gender and age of the respondents. The quota sampling was based on statistical data on the distribution of the target population according to the mentioned factors. In the first stage, the number of persons required by the study was regionally divided by NUTS3 major regions. In the second stage, municipality types within each NUTS3 region were taken into account by using the Eurostat DEGURBA classification. In the Uusimaa region, Helsinki was separated as its own area. Interviewees were selected based on the sampling. The interviews were conducted by using the starting point method, where the first interview was conducted in a randomly selected starting point. Additionally, some interviews in city areas were conducted in one specific location (e.g. larger hall, convention centre) instead of the door-to-door method. For these interviews, the interviewer used the respondents' postal codes to ensure that all selected areas were sufficiently represented. Interviews of the Swedish-speaking respondents were conducted in regions where the proportion of Swedish-speaking residents was significant: Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland Proper, and the Swedish-speaking regions of Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia. After the interview, the respondents were asked to complete a self-administered paper questionnaire with additional questions (drop-off questionnaire). 753 respondents completed the drop-off questionnaire. Approximately two thirds of the interviews were conducted in April and May. Some phone interviews were conducted between September 25 and October 5 of 2019 to reach the respondents who had mistakenly not been asked all questions in the interview.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Telephone interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

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

426 variables and 1598 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Related Datasets

FSD2556 Finnish National Election Studies 2003-2019: combined data

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

A mistake occurred in programming of the questionnaire, which resulted in the original data including 288 respondents who had not been asked questions Q12LHA Q12LH-a - K18_SO K18 during the interview. These respondents were contacted later and asked to respond to the missing questions. Of the 288 respondents, 173 agreed to respond to the questions. As a result, the data include 115 respondents who, depending on their responses regarding voting behaviour, did not respond to 3-6 questions. These questions include the following: Nowadays many people do not vote in elections for one reason or the other. Did you vote or not in these parliamentary elections? - (If did not vote): How self-evident was it for you not to vote? - (If did not vote): If you had voted, the candidate of which party or group would you have voted for? - (If voted): The candidate of which party or group did you vote for in these parliamentary elections? - (If voted): How easy or difficult was it for you to choose the party or group whose candidate you voted for? - (If voted): How easy or difficult was it for you to find a suitable candidate? - (If voted): Did you consider voting for a candidate of any other party or group? - (If considered): Which party or group?

To prevent identification of participants, variables D23posti denoting the respondent's postal code and D14 denoting the occupation of the respondent's spouse/partner were removed from the data at FSD. Additionally, open-ended responses in the following variables were removed: D37_so denoting mother tongue, D34_so denoting trade union/professional association and D10_so denoting membership of a church or religious community. Responses in variable D17 denoting municipality of residence were categorised into the five largest cities in Finland, and a variable was created to denote the respondent's NUTS3 region of residence. Individual men's names were removed from two open-ended responses. Variable D07 denoting the respondent's occupation was categorised by using ISCO-08.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable [paino] which weights the sample to match the mother tongue, age, gender and electoral district distributions in the population as well as the actual vote share of parties in the election.

In 2021, updated weight variables were added for the main and self-administered questionnaires to enable more detailed comparison between the Finnish National Election Studies. The researchers recommend using these new weight variables when analysing the data. More information on the weight variables can be found in the attached background information file.

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

Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University) & Borg, Sami (Tampere University): Finnish National Election Study 2019 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2021-09-15). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3467

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

Borg, Sami & Kestilä-Kekkonen, Elina & Wass, Hanna (2020) Politiikan ilmastonmuutos: Eduskuntavaalitutkimus 2019. Oikeusministeriön julkaisuja: Selvityksiä ja ohjeita 2020:5. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö.

Borg, Sami & Koljonen, Kari (2020). Käyttöliittymä vaaleihin. Tutkimus vaalikoneista kansalaisten, ehdokkaiden ja journalismin näkökulmista. Tampere: Tampere University Press. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-359-026-7

Kärkkäinen, Franseska (2021) Kansalaisaloitteet ja sosiodemografiset tekijät - aseman yhteys allekirjoittamisaktiivisuuteen ja aloitteiden demokraattisen toimivuuden uskoon. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiaalitieteiden Kandidaatin tutkielma.

Paljakka, Mari (2022). Äänestysosallistumisen syyperustelut eduskuntavaaleissa 2003 ja 2019. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Politiikan tutkimuksen tutkinto-ohjelma. Pro gradu -tutkielma.

Heikura, Laura (2022). Nuorten aikuisten äänestysaktiivisuuteen vaikuttavat tekijät Suomen eduskuntavaaleissa - kuluttajanäkökulma. Markkinoinnin tutkinto-ohjelma. Kandidaatin tutkielma. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopisto.

Raivio, Petri & Anna Saraste (2021) Pitkät jäähyväiset: Reportaasi fossiili-Euroopan syrjäseuduilta. Tampere: Vastapaino.

Kekkonen, Maria (2022). Poliittisen luottamuksen ja epäluottamuksen kahdet kasvot: analyysi poliittisen luottamuksen ja epäluottamuksen ilmenemismuodoista, käsitteistöstä ja empiirisestä tutkimisesta. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Politiikan tutkimuksen tutkinto-ohjelma. Kandidaatintutkielma.

Borg, Sami (2022) Kansanvaltaa koronan varjossa: Tutkimusraportti vuoden 2021 kuntavaaleista. Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiön Tutkimusjulkaisusarjan julkaisu nro 113. Helsinki: KAKS.

Eklund, Jesper (2022). Vem litar finlandssvenskarna på? En jämförelse av det sociala förtroendet hos svensk- och finskspråkiga i Finland. Vasa: Åbo Akademi. Fakulteten för samhällsvetenskaper och ekonomi. Statskunskap med medier och kommunikation. Avhandling för magisterexamen. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022081755702

Iivonen, Santeri (2022) Luottamus muutoksessa?: Suomalaisten nuorten luottamus poliittisia puolueita kohtaan 2010-luvulla. Kandidaatin tutkielma. Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta, Tamperen yliopisto. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202205215154

Ylisalo, Juha (2022). Citizens' evaluations of electoral pledge fulfilment in Finland: Individual pledges and overall government performance. Electoral Studies 80, 102546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2022.102546

Rikkonen, Anni (2022): Ennemmin turvassa kuin vapaa? Kuinka maahanmuuton kehystäminen turvallisuusuhkana vaikuttaa demokratia-asenteisiin? Yhteiskuntatieteiden kandidaatin tutkielma. Turku: Turun yliopisto.

Myllymäki, Aino (2022). Kristinuskon yhteys poliittiseen oikeistoon Suomessa. Pro gradu -tutkielma. Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.

Garzia, D., Ferreira da Silva, F. & Maye, S. (2023). Affective polarization in comparative and longitudinal perspective. Public Opinion Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfad004

Garzia, D., Ferreira da Silva, F. & De Angelis, A. (2022). Partisan dealignment and the personalisation of politics in West European parliamentary democracies, 1961-2018. West European Politics, 45: 311-334.

Garzia, D., Ferreira da Silva, F. & De Angelis, A. (2021). Leaders without Partisans. Dealignment, Media Change, and the Personalization of Politics. London: ECPR Press/Rowman & Littlefield International.

Ferreira da Silva, F., Garzia, D. & De Angelis, A. (2021). From party to leader mobilization? The personalization of voter turnout. Party Politics, 27: 220-233.

Garzia, D. & Ferreira da Silva, F. (2021). Negative personalization and voting behavior in 14 parliamentary democracies, 1961 - 2018. Electoral Studies, 71: 102300.

Sipinen, Josefina & Laine, Juuso & Kestilä-Kekkonen, Elina & Borg, Sami & von Schoultz, Åsa (2022). Kampanja poikkeusolosuhteissa: Kuntavaaliehdokkaat 2021. Helsinki: KAKS: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Tutkimusjulkaisu-sarjan julkaisu nro 115.

Vahteri, Iina (2023). "Nyt tehtävillä päätöksillä vene voi keikahtaa mihin tahansa": Delfoi-tutkimus poliittisen osallistumisen tulevaisuudesta Suomessa vuonna 2050. Politiikan tutkimuksen pro gradu -tutkielma. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.

Nieminen, Jeremias & Simola, Salla & Tukiainen, Janne (2023): Political Representation and the Evolution of Group Differences within Parties: Evidence from 110 year of parliamentary speech. Aboa Centre for Economic Research Discussion Papers No. 161. https://ideas.repec.org/p/tkk/dpaper/dp161.html

Kawecki, Daniel (2022). End of consensus? Ideology, partisan identity, and affective polarization in Finland 2003-2019. Scandinavian Political Studies 45(4), 478-503. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12238

Huttunen, J. (2024). Youth support for direct versus talk-centric democratic processes in Finland. Scandinavian Political Studies. 47, 47-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12264

Aaltonen, Milla (2024). Utbildningsnivåns effekt på politiskt förtroende bland röstberättigade i Finland. Helsingfors: Helsingfors universitet. Statskunskap med förvaltning. Magisteravhandling.

Ylisalo, Juha (2023). Suhtautuminen puolueiden vaalilupauksiin 2019 ja 2023. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:14. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/suhtautuminen-puolueiden-vaalilupauksiin-2019-ja-2023/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Isotalo, Veikko & Helimäki, Theodora & von Schoultz, Åsa & Söderlund, Peter (2023). Suomalainen äänestäjä 2003-2023. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:13. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/suomalainen-aanestaja-2003-2023/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Wass, Hanna & Tiihonen, Aino (2023). Ääni demokratialle? Puolueiden äänestäjien demokratiakiinnittyminen. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:12. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/aani-demokratialle-puolueiden-aanestajien-demokratiakiinnittyminen/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Kestilä-Kekkonen, Elina & Sipinen, Josefina (2023). Taktinen äänestäminen. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:10. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/taktinen-aanestaminen/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Rapeli, Lauri (2023). Puoluevalinta eri demografisissa ryhmissä. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:9. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/puoluevalinta-eri-demografisissa-ryhmissa/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Söderlund, Peter (2023). Äänestäjien liikkuvuus vuosien 2019 ja 2023 eduskuntavaalien välillä. FNES: Vaalivälähdykset, 2023:7. https://www.vaalitutkimus.fi/aanestajien-liikkuvuus-vuosien-2019-ja-2023-eduskuntavaalien-valilla/ [viitattu 12.6.2024]

Ojala, Ellen (2024). "Ympäristöpuolueesta ilmastopuolueeksi? Kvantitatiivinen analyysi Vihreän liiton äänestäjien ydinenergiakantojen muutoksesta." Politiikan tutkimuksen tutkinto-ohjelman kandidaatintutkielma, valtio-opin opintosuunta. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Saatavissa: <https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404254615>

Grüssner, J. (2024). Vem dras till högerpopulistiska partier? En statistisk analys av skillnader mellan manliga och kvinnliga väljare i det finska riksdagsvalet 2019. Bachelor's Thesis in Political Science, Bachelor of Social Sciences. Helsinki: University of Helsinki.

Hämäläinen, Milja-Leena (2024). Nuorten ikäluokkien luokkaäänestäminen Suomessa: tutkielma nuorten äänestyspäätöksistä ja sitoutumisesta puolueisiin. Valtiotieteiden kandidaatintutkielma. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto