Study title

Citizens' Opinion: Attitudes towards Swedish Language, Swedish-Speaking Finns and Culture in Swedish 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3976

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3976
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3976

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO)
• Karv, Thomas (Åbo Akademi University)
• Lindell, Marina (Åbo Akademi University)

Abstract

The study examined the attitudes of Finnish-speaking individuals toward Finland-Swedes, the Swedish language, and Swedish-speaking culture in Finland. The data was collected as part of the Citizens' Opinion Panel, which is part of the national infrastructure for measuring public opinion (The Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion, FIRIPO).

In the survey, respondents were first asked to express their views on various statements regarding Finland-Swedes, the Swedish language, and Swedish-language education. They were also asked to assess their own proficiency in Swedish. The survey then explored respondents' participation in Swedish-language cultural events, focusing on how frequently and what types of events they had attended. Finally, respondents were asked for their opinions on how Swedish-language education and cultural events compare to their Finnish-language counterparts.

The dataset includes background variables such as gender, level of education, statistical municipal classification, age group, mother tongue, and region.

Keywords

attitudes; bilingualism; cultural events; culture; education; language; minority language users; minority languages; opinions; teaching

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Language and linguistics (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Cultural activities and participation (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

FIRIPO Citizens' Opinion

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (D) available only by permission from the data depositor/creator.

Data Collector

• Citizens' Opinion

Funders

• Academy of Finland (345714)
• The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-11-01 – 2021-11-22

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish-speaking individuals aged 18 and over residing in Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

The majority of the panel was recruited using probability sampling. Some participants were recruited through other means, such as social media. The survey was sent only to Finnish-speaking panel members, meaning that Swedish-speaking members were excluded from the sample.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

73,7

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

To prevent identification of respondents, the researchers have removed open-ended responses from the dataset.

To prevent identification of respondents, the municipality variable was removed from the dataset at FSD.

Weighting

The dataset includes a weighting variable (vikt), which is a raking weight calculated based on gender, native language, education level (primary, secondary, higher education), age group, and region. The weighting adjusts the distribution of the data to better reflect that of the target population. The weights are capped so that the maximum weight assigned to any individual case is 5.

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

Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO) & Karv, Thomas (Åbo Akademi University) & Lindell, Marina (Åbo Akademi University): Citizens' Opinion: Attitudes towards Swedish Language, Swedish-Speaking Finns and Culture in Swedish 2021 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-06-03). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3976; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3976

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

Karv, Thomas & Backström, Jenny (2022) Kulturkonsumtion, språkrelationer och inställning till det svenska i Finland under pandemitider. Institutet för samhällsforskning (Samforsk), Åbo Akademi. https://www.barometern.fi/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kulturkonsumtion-sprakrelationer-och-installning-till-det-svenska-i-Finland-under-pandemitider.pdf [viitattu 6.6.2025]