Three institutions co-operate in the ISSP surveys in Finland: Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University, Statistics Finland and Finnish Social Science Data Archive.

Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University

The Faculty of Social Sciences brings together research on society and health in a new way, and its contribution helps to solve different welfare challenges. The Faculty’s internationally high level, multidisciplinary know-how ranges from understanding the long processes of social change to topical questions on the structure of society, institutions and everyday life.

The Focal Points of Research

The new Faculty – one with wide-ranging know-how – will help answer some of the core challenges that our changing society will face in the coming decades. In the field of research on society and health, the Faculty produces topical and critical research that has independent value in answering social problems. While acknowledging that strong academic disciplines are the cornerstone of research, the Faculty’s new strengths are concentrated in areas of multidisciplinary focus that extend beyond traditional boundaries. The new Faculty’s strong research themes cover a wide range of fields:

• Social cognition and interaction
• Gender and body
• Migration, multiculturalism
• Childhood, youth and family research
• Ageing and the health and functional ability of the elderly
• Working life, well-being at work and occupational health
• Welfare services
• Causes of cancer, reducing the causes and effects of the disease
• Cultures of politics and governance
• Science, technology and innovations
• Violence, conflicts and peaceful change
• Social theory
• Social history

Statistics Finland, Survey Research Unit

Statistics Finland’s Survey Research Unit conducts surveys charting social conditions in Finland. Data is collected using telephone and face-to-face interviews, postal questionnaires, electronically via the Internet, or by combining these data collecting methods. Existing registers are also diversely utilised. In addition to its own regular surveys, Statistics Finland also conducts surveys for outside clients, including government ministries, other government bodies, universities and research institutes. Statistics Finland has access to a large number of administrative registers for sampling. The sample frame used for surveys of the population is the updated central population register, from which random samples are taken.

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

The Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) is a national resource centre for social science research and teaching. It started to operate in the beginning of 1999, and it is a separate unit at the University of Tampere. FSD provides a wide range of services from data archiving to information services. FSD’s main task is to increase the use of existing data in the social sciences by disseminating data throughout Finland and also internationally. Finland is a member of CESSDA and FSD is its national service provider.