Study title

Email Jokes 1998-2004

Dataset ID Number

FSD1271

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1271

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Aro, Jari (University of Tampere. Department of Sociology and Social Psychology)

Abstract

The archived data consist of jokes, anecdotes and other humorous texts distributed through email messages. The researcher sent the request for email humour to the staff members of the Department of Sociology and Social Psychology at the University of Tampere, Finland, in February 2003. The staff members in their turn distributed the request further. Texts were received from university staff members and students as well as from outsiders. Data collection continued till the year 2004. The total number of email messages received was 217, some of which contained more than one joke or anecdote. The jokes/anecdotes were mostly in Finnish, but approximately 20% were in English.

The themes of the email messages varied greatly. Many were connected to current events, for instance, the Iraq war, September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, and the doping scandal of Finnish skiers in 2001. Other recurring themes included sexuality, gender and ethnicity stereotypes, and professional jokes. As is typical in email humor, the original creator of the jokes/anecdotes often remained unknown.

The dataset is only available in the original languages.

Keywords

culture; electronic mail; folklore; jokes; social behaviour; social interaction

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Humanities (Fields of Science Classification)
• Media (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Information society (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

• Aro, Jari (University of Tampere. Department of Sociology and Social Psychology)

Time Period Covered

1998 – 2004

Collection Dates

2003-02-11 – 2004

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Media unit: Text

Universe

Jokes, anecdotes and other humorous texts distributed via email

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The invitation to participate in the data collection was sent in the spring of 2003 to the staff of the Department of Sociology and Social Psychology at the University of Tampere through whom the invitation also spread outside the university.

Collection Mode

Compilation/Synthesis

Research Instrument

Data collection guidelines: Secondary data collection guide

Data Files

217 email messages in on RTF file. Some of the messages contain more than one joke. A separate HTML directory of the jokes was also created.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

All collected email messages have been anonymised by the sender, the researcher or by the FSD. In the messages anonymised by the FSD, the name of the sender/recipient(s) was replaced by gender. The messages anonymised by the researcher also often include the role of the sender/recipient(s) in relation to the data collector or other additional information. Efforts were made to retain the original form of the messages as well as possible.

Due to copyright reasons, the data does not contain images or videos originally included in some messages. Jokes based solely on images or videos were removed from the data. One message containing a poem by a well-known author was also removed from the data for copyright reasons. Some web links included in the messages may not work any longer.

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

Aro, Jari (University of Tampere): Email Jokes 1998-2004 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2013-08-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1271

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

Aro, Jari & Sarpavaara, Harri (2007). Sukupuolisterotypiat sähköpostihuumorissa. Sosiologia 44(3), 191 - 203.

Aro, Jari (2003) "Mitä yhteistä on miehillä ja sukkahousuilla?" Huomioita sähköpostihuumorista. Mediumi 2.2.