Study title

Citizens' Pulse 9/2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3555

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3555
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3555

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Statistics Finland
• Prime Minister's Office

Abstract

The Citizens' Pulse surveys examine Finnish attitudes and opinions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Main themes in the surveys include the activity and communication of authorities, compliance with regulations, future expectations, trust, and the respondents' own state of mind.

The ninth collection round of 2021 surveyed the respondents' satisfaction with the way democracy works in Finland, as well as trust in other people and in various institutions, such as the Finnish Government, the health care system, and the media. The respondents were asked to evaluate how well Finnish authorities (including the Government, Ministries, and other authorities such as the police and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) had been prepared for epidemics such as COVID-19. The respondents' state of mind was examined with questions on various matters relating to health and well-being. The questions covered, for example, whether the respondents were worried about their own risk or the risk of people close to them contracting COVID-19, the availability of health care for them and people close to them for issues unrelated to COVID-19, and their own mental well-being. Additionally, the respondents' concerns were charted with questions regarding livelihood and everyday life (e.g. whether they were worried about the adequacy of their income or the income of people close to them, the uncertainty regarding how long the exceptional circumstances would last, and their children's schooling).

Next, the respondents' confidence in their future and experiences of stress were surveyed. The respondents were asked to evaluate whether an atmosphere of crisis prevailed amongst Finns. The availability and findability of relevant information on the coronavirus crisis was charted. Compliance with coronavirus restrictions was examined by asking the respondents whether they had followed the restrictions and recommendations set by authorities for preventing transmission of the virus, including maintaining safe distances, washing hands regularly, wearing a face mask, avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands, using a hand sanitiser when it was available in public places, and minimising contacts with people outside immediate family and friends. The respondents' views on the coronavirus vaccine were also surveyed, including whether they would be willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves or for their children. Finally, some questions on the 2021 municipal elections were presented. The respondents were asked whether they had voted in the elections and if yes, whether they thought voting had been made safe, their trust in Finnish election authorities had decreased because of the elections, and that general discussion on the elections had been respectful.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age group, NUTS3 region of residence, highest level of education, household composition, and perceived financial situation of household.

Keywords

COVID-19; bacterial and virus diseases; dissemination of information; emotional states; health; income; local government elections; regulations; trust; well-being (health)

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Public health (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Citizens' Pulse

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (A) openly available for all users without registration (CC BY 4.0).

Data Collector

• Statistics Finland

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-06-30 – 2021-07-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15-74 residing in mainland Finland

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

The sample for the ninth collection round of 2021 was formed of the target persons aged 15 to 74 living in mainland Finland who had responded to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, Consumer Confidence Survey, or Finnish Travel Survey between 14 and 26 May 2021, and for whom a current telephone number could be found. The sample size was 2,779 persons. The persons included in the sample for Citizens' Pulse had expressed their willingness to respond to an additional survey when responding to the three surveys mentioned above. The samples for the Labour Force Survey, Consumer Confidence Survey and Finnish Travel Survey are drawn as stratified random samples from Statistics Finland's population database, which is based on the Central Population Register.

An invitation to participate in the study and a personal direct link to a Webropol survey were sent to the respondents by text message. The text message also contained a link to the Statistics Finland data collection webpage, where the participants were informed about, for instance, data protection. The data collection page includes a link to the privacy notice. Reminder messages were sent to those who had not yet responded two days after the first text message and on the last day of data collection. Most of the responses were received in the first three days after data collection began.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

44.8

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 and English.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

83 variables and 1246 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Men responded to the survey less often than women. For age groups, people aged between 20 and 30 responded least often. The response rate was slightly lower for respondents who had completed only primary and lower secondary education than for those who had attained tertiary level education.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable [paino] which weights the data to correspond to the target population (people aged 15-74 residing in mainland Finland). Statistics Finland based the weight on population information from the beginning of May 2021 (4,074,068 persons). The weight variable is an expansion weight which aims to correct for non-response bias. Expansion weights expand the sample to correspond to the population. The sum of the expansion weights equals to the number of people aged 15-74 living in mainland Finland in the population. The mean of the expansion weights, 3,270, indicates how many people in the population each respondent roughly represents. The starting point for the weighting was the creation of a base weight, i.e. the inverse of a sampling unit's inclusion probability. Because there was nonresponse, the original sample size was replaced by the actual sample in the data (=number of respondents) and thus the base weight was 4,074,068/1,246. In calibration, the base weights were altered so that correct population distributions could be produced according to the calibration variables used. The calibration variables included gender, NUTS2 major region, age (10-year grouping), and level of education. The weights were calibrated with the CALMAR2 SAS macro program.

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

Statistics Finland & Prime Minister's Office: Citizens' Pulse 9/2021 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-10-06). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3555

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.

More information can be found on the Citizens' Pulse webpage of Statistics Finland.

Related Materials

Kansalaispulssi 9/2021. Tutkimusseloste 7.7.2021 [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus.Tietovarannot/Tiedonkeruupalvelut. https://www.stat.fi/static/media/uploads/tup/htpalvelut/kansalaispulssi/kansalaispulssi_09_2021_tutkimusseloste.pdf [viitattu 6.10.2021]

Related Publications

Kansalaispulssi 9/2021. Tutkimusseloste 7.7.2021 [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus.Tietovarannot/Tiedonkeruupalvelut. https://www.stat.fi/static/media/uploads/tup/htpalvelut/kansalaispulssi/kansalaispulssi_09_2021_tutkimusseloste.pdf [viitattu 6.10.2021]

Kansalaispulssi 7.7.2021. Kansalaispulssi: 23. kierros. Verkkokysely 30.6.-5.7.2021. 15-74-vuotiaat mannersuomalaiset. [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Valtioneuvosto. VNK Strategiaosasto. https://valtioneuvosto.fi/ajankohtaista/kansalaispulssi/yhteenvedot [viitattu 1.12.2022].

Niskanen, Ville-Pekka (2023). Instituutioihin kohdistuvan luottamuksen ja koronapandemiaan liittyvien rajoitustoimenpiteiden dynamiikat Suomessa. Hallinnon Tutkimus, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.37450/ht.122204