Since 1984, the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) has conducted surveys studying changes in Finnish attitudes, values, and perceptions of the present and the future. For related studies, see the Finnish EU Attitudes 1992-2012 series. Since 2013, EVA has not distinguished between national value and attitude surveys and EU attitude surveys. From 2018 onwards, the EVA Surveys on Finnish Values and Attitudes have been consistently biannual.
The series aims at measuring and analysing citizens' views on Finnish society. The data allow a detailed empirical analysis and systematic follow-up of change in public opinion. Each dataset contains both new themes and recurring themes with questions repeated over the years.
Themes covered include democracy, market economy, welfare, environment, society and politics, Finland's international position, economic depression, economic growth, Finnish identity, and views on the future. The surveys are funded by EVA and have usually been carried out by Yhdyskuntatutkimus and Taloustutkimus. More information on the surveys can be found on the EVA Arvopankki website (in Finnish).
The study charted Finnish people's values and attitudes. The themes of the Spring 2021 survey included the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines, public finance, and trust in various influencing bodies in Finnish society.
First, the respondents were presented with a variety of attitudinal statements concerning, among other topics, the Government's actions to combat COVID-19, municipal decision-making, public services, Finland's relations with Russia, and immigration. The respondents were also asked how much they trusted various influencing bodies in Finnish society (e.g. the church, the justice system, political parties, the EU, social media).
Various questions examined the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were asked whether they thought different measures and restrictions imposed for the purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 had been or would be too strict when considering the situation at the time of the survey. Remote working was also surveyed, and the respondents were asked whether they thought the COVID-19 epidemic was threatening to their own health and livelihood as well as the health and livelihood of Finns in general. The survey charted whether the respondents had contracted COVID-19 themselves, whether they knew someone who had contracted COVID-19, and whether they or someone they knew had been hospitalised because of COVID-19. The respondents' estimates of when coronavirus restrictions would be lifted in Finland were also examined.
Attitudes towards the coronavirus vaccine were surveyed with questions on, for example, whether the respondents thought that the vaccine was safe or that it had been developed and tested too quickly and whether they felt they had received enough information on the vaccine. The respondents were asked whether they had already been vaccinated against COVID-19 or were planning to get the vaccine, whether they thought that other people in their municipality would get vaccinated, and whether they had received enough information about vaccinations from their municipality. Additionally, the respondents' opinions were examined on whether Finland's approach to procuring the coronavirus vaccines had been appropriate.
Views on Finland's public sector finances were charted with questions on local taxation and the rebalancing of public finance. Finally, the respondents were asked about their current views on Russia and their attitudes towards Finland's EU membership and the euro as Finland's currency.
Background variables included gender, age group, size of the respondent's municipality of residence, region of residence, level of education, employer type, employment status, type of employment contract, occupational group, employment sector, trade union membership, political party preference (which party the respondent would vote for), self-perceived social class, and annual income of the respondent's household.
A stratified random sample was drawn from among the internet panel of Taloustutkimus. 2,059 people responded to the survey. The final data were weighted at Taloustutkimus to be representative of the Finnish population with respect to age, gender, region of residence, education, occupation/occupational status, employment sector, and political party preference (which party R would vote for in national elections).
The internet panel of Taloustutkimus, randomly drawn from Finland's population register, consists of individuals aged 15-79 who have entered their demographic and sociographic information when registering to the panel and have given their consent to Taloustutkimus to invite them to participate in various surveys. Responding to any survey is voluntary and participants can leave the panel any time they want.