Study title

Aalto University Student Union Member Survey 2020

Dataset ID Number

FSD3515

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3515
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3515

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus)

Abstract

The Aalto University Student Union Member Survey examined the student union members' experiences and opinions regarding the usefulness and quality of the services provided by Aalto University Student Union (AYY) and AYY's communication channels. Main themes of the survey included housing, AAY's communication channels and services, and participation in student affairs and activities. The research was carried out by the Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus) and funded by AAY.

First, the respondents were asked to provide information about their studies at Aalto University and their current housing situation, and to evaluate their satisfaction with the quality of their current housing. They were also asked about the length of their commute and how burdensome they found it. Views on shared housing were examined with questions on whether the respondents had ever lived in a shared student apartment or shared housing, which factors had influenced their decision to live or to not live in shared housing, and what their attitudes towards shared housing were. The importance of facilities (e.g. club rooms, sports facilities), residential activities, events and common spaces in the vicinity of the respondents' home and in their residential area were investigated. Views on how location contributed to the quality of housing and the factors based on which the respondents made study-related housing choices were also charted.

Next topic was the use of AAY's communication channels. The respondents were asked about the frequency with which they used AAY's communication channels (e.g. AAY's website, mailing lists, weekly newsletters, Facebook, Instagram), which channels they primarily used to look for information about student union activities, and through which channels they would like to receive information on student union services. Further questions focused on general use of social media channels, which of these channels they would like to use to keep in touch with AAY, and the kind of information and content they would be interested in receiving from the student union.

Experiences and opinions regarding services provided AAY were also examined. The respondents were asked which services provided (e.g. rental housing, legal protection counselling, rental recreational facilities, events) they had used in the past six months and how useful they found the student union services. Opinions on the usefulness of several potential services, the opening hours of the Otaniemi Services Office, and the respondents' satisfaction with their latest service point visit were investigated. Additionally, the respondents were asked about their membership and participation in associations within the student union, what kind of student events they attended or would like to attend, their participation in events organised by AAY, and their opinions on AAY's or the Aalto community's student events.

The next set of questions focused on the problems the respondents had faced in their daily life as students, for instance, in matters related to their finances, housing, teaching or facilities at the university. Finally, the respondents were asked to identify the ways in which they thought they could influence student affairs and activities, whether they were interested in acting as student representatives in university administration, and whether they had voted in Representative Council elections.

Background variables included variables related to the respondent's housing situation, student status, educational progression, mother tongue, gender, age group, and identification with a minority group.

Keywords

communities; higher education institutions; housing; leisure time; participation; shared housing; student organizations; student unions; students (college); tertiary education

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Higher and further education (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Housing (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Information society (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

• Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus)

Time Period Covered

2020

Collection Dates

2020-09-23 – 2020-10-14

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Members of Aalto University Student Union, i.e. students of Aalto University

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

An invitation to participate in the study and a direct link to the survey were sent to all members of the Aalto University Student Union (AYY) by email. An invitation to participate in the survey was also shared on AYY's social media channels.

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

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The questionnaire published on the FSD website lacks the last response option for some variables included in the survey because these were not displayed correctly in the PDF download of the online questionnaire.

To prevent identification of individuals, variables q6, q11, and responses to the "Other, please specify" response option in variable q7 were removed. Additionally, the responses to variables q3 and q5 were categorised.

The data delivered to FSD did not contain responses to open-ended questions expect for the "Other, please specify" response option in variable q7. Variable q66 was removed during the archival process as unnecessary since it only pertains to the respondent's consent for forwarding the anonymised data to AYY. All respondents had given consent for depositing the anonymised data to FSD.

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

Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus): Aalto University Student Union Member Survey 2020 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-12-03). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3515

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.

Other Material

See downloadable files at the top of the page.

Aalto University Student Union Member Survey 2020

More information can be found on the Aalto University Member Survey 2020 webpage of Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus) (in Finnish).

FSD has not been informed of any publications related to the data.