Study title

Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database: Survey on User Needs 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3487

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3487

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Wessman, Anna (University of Helsinki. Institute for Cultural Research)

Abstract

The survey charted user needs and expectations regarding the FindSampo database, which aims to foster collecting, sharing, publishing, and studying archaeological finds discovered by the public. FindSampo is being developed in the Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database (SuALT) project, which aims to develop innovative solutions to respond to metal detecting and other non-professional encounters with archaeological material, applying semantic computing to "citizen science". The project is funded by the Academy of Finland. The dataset includes both individual and group interviews. 50 persons were interviewed in total.

Related interview data collected for the project after the survey are also archived at FSD (dataset FSD3486 Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database: Interviews on User Needs 2018-2019). The two datasets include some of the same respondents, but they cannot be connected between the datasets.

First, the respondents were asked whether they had reported archaeological finds to the Finnish Heritage Agency before and if they had, how many finds they had reported. Additionally, the respondents' experiences and knowledge of both national and international databases were examined. The respondents' expectations for the FindSampo database were surveyed next with questions on, for example, in which languages they though people should be able to report finds, whether they hoped the database would be able to help them identify and date their discoveries or other people's finds, and whether they hoped they could use the database to compare material from Finland with similar data from other countries.

Next, views on user roles and types were charted. The respondents were asked whether they thought levels of access should vary based on different user roles, which user types they thought would be useful for the database (e.g. amateur archaeologists or historians, museum professionals, students), and whether they thought roles and statuses should differ between users in Finland and abroad. Motivations for using the database were surveyed with questions on the potential issues that would prevent the respondents from using the database, what opportunities or features would encourage or convince them to use it, and what their own motivations for using the database might be. Finally, the respondents' opinions on the possible features of the database were surveyed with questions on how important they thought various features were for user experience (e.g. and FAQ page, a general blog, possibility to upload pictures, personal profile, monthly competitions, or mobile application).

Background variables included the respondent's role, age, education, gender, country of residence, and NUTS3 region of residence (if resided in Finland).

Keywords

archaeological objects; archaeology; development; hobbies; information services; museums

Topic Classification

• Humanities (Fields of Science Classification)
• Information society (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Cultural activities and participation (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Leisure, tourism and sport (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• University of Helsinki. Institute for Cultural Research

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-01-30 – 2018-03-24

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Future users of the FindSampo database in Finland and abroad: enthusiasts (e.g. metal detectorists, amateur historians, archaeology enthusiasts), archaeologists (students, researchers), and professionals in the museum sector who work with archaeological material or in protecting the archaeological cultural heritage

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

Non-probability: Purposive

The link to the questionnaire was widely shared through mailing lists, the social media channels of the project (blog, Facebook and Twitter), and a Facebook page for metal detectorists. Additionally, the researcher contacted some occupational groups personally to ensure that all future user groups of the database were included as respondents.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

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: Finnish.

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

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD3486 Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database: Interviews on User Needs 2018-2019

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

There are two respondent groups in the dataset (people who responded to the Finnish questionnaire and people who responded to the English questionnaire). The respondent groups can be differentiated with the 'kysely' variable.

To prevent identification of respondents, variable 'ammatti' denoting the respondent's occupation was removed from the data and variable q6_1 denoting the respondent's region/municipality of residence was categorised into NUTS3 regions. Additionally, the open-ended responses were reviewed and, if necessary, any identifiers were removed or coarsened (e.g. location information, occupation). Changes made at FSD 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

Wessman, Anna (University of Helsinki): Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database: Survey on User Needs 2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-08-05). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3487

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

Wessman, Anna, Suzie Thomas, Ville Rohiola, Mikko Koho, Esko Ikkala, Jouni Tuominen, Eero Hyvönen, Jutta Kuitunen, Helinä Parviainen, Marianna Niukkanen. 2019. Citizen Science in Archaeology: Developing a Collaborative Web Service for Archaeological Finds in Finland. In J. Jameson and S. Musteata (eds) Transforming Heritage Practice in the 21st Century: Contributions from Community Archaeology. Springer. pp. 337-352

Wessman, Anna & Thomas, Suzie & Rohiola, Ville & Kuitunen, Jutta & Ikkala, Esko & Koho, Mikko & Hyvönen, Eero (2019). A Citizen Science Approach to Archaeology: Finnish Archaeological Finds Recording Linked Open Database (SuALT). In C. Navarretta, M. Agirrezabal & B. Maegaard (eds) (2019). Digital Humanities in the Nordic Countries : Proceedings of the Digital Humanities in the Nordic Countries 4th Conference . CEUR Workshop Proceedings, no. 2364, pp. 469-478. Copenhagen. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/303221