Study title

University Students' Livelihood Survey 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3670

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3670
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3670

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus)

Abstract

The data surveys university students' incomes, employment, housing and changes in these aspects. The survey was carried out by the Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus) and funded by the Student Union of Tampere University (TREY), the Student Union of the University of Turku (TYY), the Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland (ISYY), the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY) and the Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS).

First, respondents were asked about the income of carers, moving to another place to study, housing and homelessness, and sharing household expenses. Respondents were also asked to estimate their monthly expenditure. Respondents were asked whether they were receiving any student financial allowances for the studies they were currently pursuing, and how adequate the number of months of financial aid seemed at the moment. The reasons for raising student loans and other sources of income, such as support from parents or other close relatives, were also of interest.

Next, they were asked about working, the reasons for working while studying and the impact of working on the progress of their studies. Respondents were asked to assess the adequacy of their own financial resources and their own employment prospects after graduation. Respondents were also asked whether they had taken out consumer credit, applied for food aid or taken any other action in the last 12 months to deal with a tight financial situation. Finally, the respondents were asked about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their financial situation.

Background variables included year of starting studies, university, faculty, age group, gender, native language, number of children in care and minority status.

Keywords

economic conditions; educational finance; educational grants; homelessness; housing; housing benefits; income; living conditions; standard of living; student loans; wealth

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Higher and further education (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Income, property and investment/saving (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

• Research Foundation for Studies and Education (Otus)

Funders

• The Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland, Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä, Student Union of Tampere University, Student Union of the University of Turku and The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-10-04 – 2021-10-31

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Members of student unions (TREY, TYY, ISYY, JYY and ÅAS), i.e. students of the University of Jyväskylä, University of Turku, Tampere University, University of Eastern Finland and Åbo Akademi.

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The data collection was carried out via an open link. Each student union had its own separate response link, i.e. its own separate questionnaire. The invitation to the survey was distributed through the student unions' media and 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

For identification reasons, the researcher has removed the open-ended responses from the data and reclassified the following variables: the stage of study (q5), international students (q6), number of dependent children (q12), year of starting studies (q4), age (q7), gender (q8) and minority status (q13_5). For the same reason, the information on the faculty and the year of starting studies for foreign graduate students has been removed from the data at FSD. In addition, variable q10, which provided information on the location of the respondent's university, has been removed from the data.

Weighting

The data include two weight variables (paino_kk, paino_yokunta), the first weighting the data by the university and gender reported on the questionnaire, and the second by the student union and gender.

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): University Students' Livelihood Survey 2021 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2023-07-13). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3670

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.

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