Study title

Hate and Public Sphere: Municipal Councillor Survey 2019-2020

Dataset ID Number

FSD3987

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3987
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3987

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 Finnish municipal councilors 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 or targeted attacks 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 (Ideological 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, political party membership, economic activity, and information on how often the respondent appears in television, radio, or newspapers due to their work.

Keywords

councillors; cyberbullying; harassment; hate speech; internet; job satisfaction; occupational life; online social networks; psychological well-being; 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

2019 – 2020

Collection Dates

2019-06-21 – 2020-05-20

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Municipal councilors in Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Systematic random

Information on municipal councilors was retrieved from Statistics Finland's database. A random sample of councilors was then taken, and a quarter (25%) were selected for the preliminary sample. Those who had resigned from their positions were removed from the sample. Participants were contacted via the email addresses found on municipal websites. The survey was ultimately sent to 2,112 councilors, of whom 510 responded to the entire survey. Compared to Statistics Finland's data on municipal elected officials, women and older participants were slightly overrepresented in the sample.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Web-based experiment

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

24.15

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

FSD3986 Hate and Public Sphere: University Research and Teaching Staff Survey 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.

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: Municipal Councillor Survey 2019-2020 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-10-09). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3987; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3987

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

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