Study title

The survey focused on voting behaviour in the 1998 Finnish parish elections. Firstly, the respondents were asked for some background information: size of household, ages of children, gross income, occupation, ownership of certain domestic appliances, sex, year of birth, and whether the respondent was the one who earns the most in the household. Then the respondent was asked whether he/she was the one in the household who decides what food supplies and other daily consumer goods are bought and cooks for the family. The respondents' marital status, place of residence, education, occupational status, weekly working hours, industry of employment, and trade union membership were canvassed. The respondents were asked for which party or coalition they would vote in the parliamentary elections, for which party or coalition they had voted in the 1996 municipal elections, and to which social class they belonged. The respondents were asked if they had voted in the last parish elections. Non-voters were asked whether the decision would have been different if, for example, the respondents had known some candidate personally, or the polling station had been nearer.