Study title

Finnish Local Government 2004: Inhabitants 2000

Dataset ID Number

FSD2272

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2272

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Helander, Voitto (Åbo Akademi University)
• Pekola-Sjöblom, Marianne (Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities)
• Sjöblom, Stefan (University of Helsinki. Swedish School of Social Science)

Abstract

This survey studies the inhabitants' opinions on their municipalities and municipal services, as well as their political participation and influencing.

The respondents were asked how likely they thought that they would live in their municipality of residence for the rest of their lives. They were also asked whether they considered their municipality a good place to live compared to other municipalities, and to what extent they identified with their neighbourhood, municipality, region, country, the Nordic countries, the EU, and Europe on the whole.

Views were probed on which municipal services (public services) the respondents had used in the last 12 months, how well certain municipal services functioned, and whether the municipality should invest more or less in these services.

The respondents were asked whether they had been elected to any office in their municipality, and whether they would be willing to hold an elected office. Voting behaviour was investigated by asking the respondents whether they had voted in the 2000 municipal elections, whether they had voted for a female or male candidate, and which political party they had voted for. The respondents were also asked to assess the significance of the party or the person in making the voting decision. Party loyalty was investigated by asking whether the respondents always voted for a particular party, or whether they changed the party they vote for between different elections.

The respondents gave their views on a set of attitudinal statements related to organising different services and administration, as well as membership and participation in non-governmental organisations and associations. Political participation was studied by asking the respondents whether they had used certain methods of influencing decision-making (e.g. taking part in demonstrations, signing petitions, contacting decision-makers), and by asking them to rate the effectiveness of these methods. The respondents were also asked whether they had followed current issues concerning their municipality in the media or visited the web pages of their municipality. Further questions covered whether the respondents had given feedback on public services in their municipality and whether the eventual feedback had been countered.

Finally, the respondents were asked to evaluate their own abilities to interact with their municipality and to defend their own interests, to assess how integral certain traits and ways of acting were to the idea of citizenship (e.g. paying taxes honestly, obeying the law and regulations, sacrificing personal interest for the common good, respecting public property, membership in a political party), and to give their opinions on decision-making in their municipality of residence.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, marital status, number of children, education, employment type, and tenure. Background variables not asked in the questionnaire included the respondent's mother tongue, and the year of moving into the respondent's current municipality of residence.

Keywords

attitudes; citizenship; community identification; elected officials; elections; local government; local government elections; local government policy; place of residence; political allegiance; political participation; politics; public services; residential areas; social influence; voluntary organizations; voting; voting behaviour

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social welfare policy (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Local Government 2004

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities

Data Producers

• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities

Time Period Covered

2000

Collection Dates

2000-11 – 2001-03

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Espoo, Haukipudas, Humppila, Hämeenlinna, Iitti, Jaala, Joroinen, Kaarina, Karstula, Kemiö, Kerava, Kiikala, Kokkola, Kolari, Kotka, Kristiinankaupunki, Kuhmoinen, Lappeenranta, Leppävirta, Lieksa, Liljendal, Lumijoki, Mikkeli, Multia, Naantali, Noormarkku, Närpiö, Oulainen, Outokumpu, Padasjoki, Pieksämäki, Porvoo, Pudasjärvi, Punkaharju, Pyhäntä, Pylkönmäki, Ranua, Rääkkylä, Sonkajärvi, Suolahti, Tyrnävä, Vaasa, Vahto, Varkaus, Vehkalahti, Vimpeli, Virrat, Anttola, Mikkelin mlk

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Residents of the project municipalities aged 18 or over

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

Simple random sampling, sample size 25,700.

The municipality samples were identical with the 1996 survey. In addition, Anttola and the rural municipality of Mikkeli were included, because they had merged with the city of Mikkeli at the beginning of 2001.

The Population Register Centre randomly drew a sample of 300, 450, 650 or 1,500 inhabitants in each selected municipality depending on its size. There were three follow-up mailings, of which the last one was sent only to those municipalities where the response rate was among the lowest. 14,535 questionnaires were returned.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

56.5

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

FSD2273 Finnish Local Government 2004: Inhabitants 2004

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The variable charting the municipality of residence has been removed from the data.

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

Helander, Voitto (Åbo Akademi University) & Pekola-Sjöblom, Marianne (Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities) & Sjöblom, Stefan (University of Helsinki): Finnish Local Government 2004: Inhabitants 2000 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2007-08-27). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2272

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 Materials

Pekola-Sjöblom, Marianne & Helander, Voitto & Sjöblom, Stefan (2002). Kuntalaisen monet roolit. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia nro 37. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto.

http://www.kunnat.net/k_kuntaliitto_perussivu.asp?path=1;161;279;29902;29906;45777;51260

Related Publications

Pekola-Sjöblom, Marianne & Helander, Voitto & Sjöblom, Stefan (2002). Kuntalaisen monet roolit. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia; 37 & Acta-sarja; 147.

Pekola-Sjöblom, Marianne & Helander, Voitto & Sjöblom, Stefan (2006). Kuntalainen - kansalainen. Tutkimus kuntalaisten asenteista ja osallistumisesta 1996-2004. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia; 56 & Acta-sarja; 182.

Demokratiaindikaattorit 2013. Toim. Borg, Sami. Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö. Selvityksiä ja ohjeita 52/2013. URN:ISBN:978-952-259-334-4