Summary information

Study title

Finnish Voter Barometer February 2004

Creator

TNS Gallup

Study number / PID

FSD2135 (FSD)

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2135 (URN)

10.60686/t-fsd2135 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Finnish Voter Barometers

The Finnish Voter Barometer surveys are commissioned by the major parties in the Parliament. In election years, other sponsors have also been involved. Up till 1988, the surveys were planned by Gallup Finland (TNS Gallup Ltd, Kantar) and the Department of Political and Economic Studies at the University of Helsinki in collaboration with the political parties. After 1988, the planning has been in the hands of Gallup Finland and the parties. From 1973 to 1990, the annual voter barometers were collected mainly with face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires, 1000-2000...

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Abstract

The survey studied Finnish political attitudes, and opinions on political parties. Respondents were asked how favourable their opinion was regarding the Finnish Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party of Finland, the National Coalition Party, the Left Alliance and the Green League and how tempted respondents would be to vote for these parties. A number of attributes (e.g. incompetent leaders, competence in EU issues) were listed and respondents were asked to which party they could be applied. They also assessed government performance and goals which receive too much or too little attention in politics. Voting behaviour was studied by asking how tempted respondents would be to vote for different parties if the Parliamentary elections were held at the time of the survey and which party did they vote for in the 2003 Parliamentary elections. Respondents were asked whether they support any party at that moment. Their intention to vote in the next European Parliamentary and local government elections was also studied. Qualities (e.g. ambitiousness, helpfulness, insouciance, and self-discipline) which guide respondents' lives were examined. Background variables included respondent's year of birth, gender, marital status, household composition, household's annual gross income, type of accommodation, housing tenure, basic and vocational education, occupational group, industry of employment, employer type, trade union membership, political orientation on the left-right axis, self-perceived social class, and province, county and municipality of residence.

Methodology

Data collection period

16/02/2004 - 22/02/2004

Country

Finland

Time dimension

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Analysis unit

Individual

Universe

People aged 15 and over living in Finland

Excludes: the Åland Islands

Sampling procedure

Probability: Multistage

Kind of data

Quantitative

Data collection mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Access

Publisher

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Publication year

2006

Terms of data access

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

Related publications

  • Wass, Hanna (2007). The effects of age, generation and period on turnout in Finland 1975-2003. Electoral Studies 26(3), 648-659.
  • Wass, Hanna (2008). Generations and turnout: Generational effect in electoral participation in Finland. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Department of Political Science. Acta Politica 35.