Study title

Youth and Parliamentary Elections 2003

Dataset ID Number

FSD1247

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1247

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora)

Abstract

The aim of the survey was to chart the voting behaviour of youth during the 2003 parliamentary elections in Finland. The respondents were asked how interested they are in politics. Perceptions of politics, possibilities of political influence, the influence of politics on everyday life and the attractiveness of political parties and candidates were rated. The respondents were asked to evaluate how different aspects, such as self-acquired knowledge and co-worker opinions, affect their views on politicians and political parties. They were also asked whether they discussed parliamentary elections during election campaign with others and whether they searched for suitable candidates using online voting advice applications. The importance of different information sources (including parents and TV-programmes) in voting behaviour was probed as well.

The respondents were asked whether they had voted in the last parliamentary elections. The data contain information on factors which contributed to candidate choice and decision making: at what point did voters choose their political party and candidate, did they know their candidate, was the candidate of same gender and age as the voter, the political party of the candidate. The respondents were asked which qualities of their candidate appealed to them and to what extent. They assessed how the party's qualities and desire to influence government actions affected their party choice. The influence of current issues (for example prostitution and economic growth) on voting behaviour was probed. Non-voters were asked to state how self-evident it had been that they were not going to vote and how big a role did different factors play in doing so. These factors included difficulty to choose, futility of voting or the spirit of protest.

The respondents were asked whether they took part in or wanted to participate in the activities of voluntary organisations, clubs, societies, groups, etc. They were also queried on what forms of social participation, for example sending letters to the editor or taking part in violent demonstrations, they had used or might use in promoting important issues. Questions also charted political parties respondents might have voted for, the influence of parents on voting behaviour and satisfaction with personal financial circumstances, and actions of Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's government.

Background variables included the respondent's basic and vocational education, past and present employment status, occupational group, household composition, region of residence, gender and age.

Keywords

elections; information sources; parliamentary candidates; parliamentary elections; political action; political behaviour; political influence; political interest; political participation; political parties; politicians; voluntary organizations; voting; voting advice applications; voting behaviour; youth

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Youth (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Elections (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

• TNS Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Advisory Council for Youth Affairs

Time Period Covered

2003

Collection Dates

2003-03-17 – 2003-03-31

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged between 18 and 30 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

Random sampling from the population register. Both mobile phone and fixed-network telephone numbers were used.

Collection Mode

Telephone interview

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: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

185 variables and 1002 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Related Datasets

FSD1027 Youth and Parliamentary Elections 1999

FSD1028 Young People and European Parliament Elections 1999

FSD1048 Young People and Presidential Elections 2000

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Response rate missing.

The variable identifying municipality has been removed. The data set does not contain answers to the open-ended question q21_1.

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

Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora): Youth and Parliamentary Elections 2003 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-08-10). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1247

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

"Kyllä politiikalle, mutta...": nuoret ja eduskuntavaalit 2003 (2003). Toim. Kari Paakkunainen. Helsinki: Opetusministeriö & Nuorisotutkimusverkosto & Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta.

Cavén, Outi (2003). Virtuaaliyhteisöt, media, e-demokratia ja kansalaisuus. Teoksessa: Cavén, Outi & Ellonen, Hanna-Kaisa & Heikkinen, Kari & Kosonen, Miia: E-demokratian ja elämysten arkea, 1-16. Lappeenranta: University of Technology. Telecom Business Research Center, Working Papers; 18.

Borg, Sami (2008). Hiljaa hyvä tulee. Puheenvuoro äänestysprosenteista ja vaaliaktivoinnista. Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 71.

Borg, Sami (2012). Nuorten äänestysvalinnat, puoluekiinnittyminen ja edustautuminen. Teoksessa: Nuoret ja ääni - Nuoret eduskuntavaaleissa 2011 (toim. Ronkainen, Jussi), 15-27. Helsinki: Nuorisotutkimusseuran julkisuja; 125.

Nurmela, Sakari & Pehkonen, Juhani (2003). Nuoret ja vuoden 2003 eduskuntavaalit. - Julkaisussa: "Kyllä politiikalle, mutta..." : nuoret ja eduskuntavaalit 2003 (toim. Kari Paakkunainen), s. 9-61. Helsinki : Opetusministeriö & Nuorisotutkimusverkosto & Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta. - (Nuorisotutkimusverkosto/Nuorisotutkimusseura, julkaisuja; 35 & Nuorisoasian neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja; 27).