Study title

Deliberative Discussion on Nuclear Power 2006

Alternative Title

Deliberativ medborgardiskussion 2006

Dataset ID Number

FSD2355

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2355

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Institute for Finland-Swedish Sociological Research)
• Herne, Kaisa (University of Turku. Department of Political Science)
• Setälä, Maija (University of Turku. Department of Political Science)

Abstract

The data contain the responses of five surveys conducted in connection with the deliberative experiment called Citizen Deliberation organised by the Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence "Democracy: a Citizen Perspective", at the Åbo Akademi University. The Citizen Deliberation was en experiment on democratic deliberation, which culminated in the actual deliberation day organised in Turku on the 18th of November 2006. The topic of the discussion was: "Should a sixth nuclear power plant be built in Finland?" Before the actual deliberation day, the participants received balanced information on nuclear energy, and they were also given an opportunity to hear experts' views on the topic. The discussion was conducted under guidance in small groups.

The surveys were conducted in three waves: in September 2006, on the 18th of November 2006, and in February 2007. In September, 2,500 randomly sampled people from Turku region were sent a survey and an invitation to the Citizen Deliberation event. The survey contained questions on nuclear power, energy, social participation, and political activity. In addition, socio-economic background variables were included in the September questionnaire.

The November wave contained three surveys, which were conducted at the beginning, during, and at the end of the deliberative discussion. In the first survey, the respondents participating in the discussion were asked about their views on energy issues and general knowledge on political issues. The respondents replied to the second survey after familiarising themselves with the balanced information on nuclear energy and hearing the experts, but before the group discussions. The third survey was presented to the respondents at the end of the event, and it contained the same questions that were posed at the beginning of the discussion and in September. In addition, the respondents' experiences on the Citizen Deliberation were charted. The number of respondents in the November surveys was 135.

In February, the participants of the Citizen Deliberation and the respondents volunteered in the September survey were sent a follow-up questionnaire, which included mostly the same questions as the first data collection round, but there were also additional questions for those who had participated in the Citizen Deliberation event.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, mother tongue, municipality of residence, year of birth, marital status, education, occupational group, economic activity, household size, and gross income.

Keywords

attitudes; democracy; energy; nuclear energy; nuclear power stations; organizations; political action; public opinion

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Energy and natural resources (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

• Åbo Akademi University. Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence - Democracy: a Citizen Perspective

Data Producers

• Åbo Akademi University. Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence - Democracy: a Citizen Perspective

Time Period Covered

2006

Collection Dates

2006-09 – 2007-02

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Varsinais-Suomi

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Event/Process/Activity

Individual

Universe

Randomly selected people from the region of Turku and the participants of the Citizen Deliberation event

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

Simple random sampling of 2,500 people from Turku region, judgment sampling of the 135 participants of the Citizen Deliberation event, and a follow-up survey. The original sample consisted of 2,000 Finnish-speaking and 500 Swedish-speaking people. Altogether 592 responses were received.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

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 Swedish.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

289 variables and 592 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The data were collected in five separate collection rounds and with five different questionnaires. During the archiving, letters a, b, c, d and e have been used to separate questions of different questionnaires. Questions q1a-q76a (questionnaire 1) were collected in September 2006. Questions q1b-q15b (questionnaire 2) were collected in November 2006 at the beginning of the Citizen Deliberation event, questions q1c-q7c (questionnaire 3) during the event, and questions q1d-q90d (questionnaire 4) after it. Questions q1e-q74e (questionnaire 5) were collected in February 2007.

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

Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University) & Herne, Kaisa (University of Turku) & Setälä, Maija (University of Turku): Deliberative Discussion on Nuclear Power 2006 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-23). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2355

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

Grönlund, Kimmo & Strandberg, Kim & Himmelroos, Staffan (2009). The Challenge of Deliberative Democracy Online. A Comparison of Face-to-Face and Virtual Experiments in Citizen Deliberation. Information Polity 14, 187-201.

Grönlund, Kimmo & Setälä, Maija & Herne, Kaisa (2010). Deliberation and Civic Virtue. Lessons from a Citizen Deliberation Experiment. European Political Science Review 2, 95-117. DOI:10.1017/S1755773909990245