Study title

Hate and Public Sphere: University Research and Teaching Staff Survey 2020

Dataset ID Number

FSD3986

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3986
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3986

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Oksanen, Atte (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Latikka, Rita (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Oksa, Reetta (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Savela, Nina (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Abstract

The survey explores the experiences of research and teaching staff at Finnish universities concerning hate and harassment along with their social media use and overall well-being.

First, the survey mapped the respondents' social media usage habits. Respondents were asked, for example, how often they publish content on various social media services. In addition, the survey examined the use of social media at work and employers' attitudes toward public use of social media. Next, the survey mapped harassment and hate experienced at work and their effects on the respondents' activities and well-being. Respondents were also asked if they knew the perpetrator and if they reported the incident to anyone. Furthermore, concerns about potential harassment were examined. At the end of the survey, questions focused on work well-being, work engagement, and social support. Respondents were also asked about general well-being, happiness, and experiences of psychological strain.

The experimental section of the survey examined how respondents reacted to death threats made on social media against either a close colleague or a stranger working in the same profession, based on perceived closeness and ideological similarity. Respondents were asked what reactions the event evoked in them and how the person who received the death threat should act.

The following instruments were used in the survey: Big Five Inventory BFI-S (Personality), Eysenck Impulsivity Scale EIS (Impulsivity), General Health Questionnaire GHQ-12 (Psychological strain), Identity Bubble Reinforcement Scale IBRS (Similarity and identity bubbles), Single-Item Self-Esteem SISE (Self-esteem), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory STAI-6 (Anxiety), Trauma Screening Questionnaire TSQ (Screening for psychological trauma symptoms), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale UWES (Work engagement, 9-item scale).

Background variables include, among others, respondent's gender, age group, marital status, education level, field of science, economic activity, and information on how often the respondent appears on television, radio, or in newspapers as part of their job.

Keywords

cyberbullying; educational personnel; harassment; hate speech; internet; job satisfaction; occupational life; online social networks; psychological well-being; scientific personnel; social media

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Information society (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• General health and well-being (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

• Oksanen, Atte (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Latikka, Rita (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Oksa, Reetta (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Savela, Nina (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Funders

• Helsingin Sanomat Foundation

Time Period Covered

2020

Collection Dates

2020-04-15 – 2020-06-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Research and teaching staff at five Finnish universities

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified

Half of the research and teaching staff at each of the five universities were invited to participate in the survey. The universities represented the southern, western, eastern, and northern parts of the country. Participants were selected at random based on contact information obtained from human resources departments and university websites. All individuals selected for the sample were contacted by email.

The overall response rate was 50.06%, and 40.79% completed the survey. Only respondents who completed the entire survey were included in the data. Based on an analysis of age and gender distribution, non-response did not cause any significant bias in the data.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Web-based experiment

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

40.79

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

Related Datasets

FSD3987 Hate and Public Sphere: Municipal Councillor Survey 2019-2020

FSD3988 Hate and Public Sphere: Media Professionals Survey 2020

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The researchers have anonymised the data by removing open-ended responses and categorising birth years into age groups, and coarsening the fields of study.

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

Oksanen, Atte (Tampere University) & Latikka, Rita (Tampere University) & Oksa, Reetta (Tampere University) & Savela, Nina (Tampere University): Hate and Public Sphere: University Research and Teaching Staff Survey 2020 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-10-03). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3986; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3986

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

Oksanen, A., Celuch, M., Latikka, R., Oksa, R., & Savela, N. (2022). Hate and harassment in academia: The rising concern of the online environment. Higher Education, 84, 541-567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00787-4

Celuch, M., Savela, N., Oksa, R., Latikka, R., & Oksanen, A. (2022). Individual factors predicting reactions to online harassment among Finnish professionals. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 107022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107022

Celuch, M., Oksa, R., Ellonen, N., & Oksanen, A. (2023). Self-censorship among online harassment targets: The role of support at work, harassment characteristics, and the target's public visibility self-censoring. Information, Communication & Society, 27(11), 2171-2190. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2023.2289978

Celuch, M. (2024). Aftermath of Abuse on the Internet: Reactions of targets and bystanders to online harassment. Sosiaalipsykologian väitöskirja. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-3586-1