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Issue 20 (2/2006)
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Front page
FSD Bulletin is the electronic newsletter of the Finnish Social Science Data Archive. The Bulletin provides information and news related to the data archive and social science research.
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In Brief
» POHTIVA - Web Database of Finnish Political Party Manifestoes POHTIVA - Web Database of Finnish Political Party ManifestoesFSD has published the database POHTIVA which offers political manifestoes and other political texts produced by Finnish political parties over the years. POHTIVA functions as an open access information source. The new interface provides better searching and browsing facilities than the two previous pilot versions. In addition to election manifestos, the database includes publications on policy issues and pamphlets. The oldest texts date from the end of the 19th century. At present, the database has roughly 750 texts from over 50 political parties, and many of the texts are both in Finnish and Swedish (the other official language of Finland). As political parties publish new manifestoes and policy programmes, they will be added to the collection. In future, the collection will also include the Government programmes. In view of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in March 2007, FSD also provides a Political Party Selector, Vaalimaatti. Vaalimaatti offers the election manifestoes and prevailing political manifestoes of all participating political parties, but no candidate level information. MOTV Expanded to Qualitative MethodsAs FSD archives both quantitative and qualitative data, the data archive has expanded its popular Research Methods Web Resource (MOTV in Finnish) to include qualitative methods. Like the quantitative methods web resource QuantiMOTV, also QualiMOTV is an open access learning environment based on hypertext design. The website content has been provided by social scientists Anna Puusniekka and Anita Saarainen, and the content structure by Jari Eskola. QualiMOTV is not a substitute to the teaching of research methods but provides complementary information, and a training and support environment. It includes theory, exemplar datasets and analysis examples, and can offer ideas on how to teach qualitative methods. FSD collections also include particular datasets designed to be used on methodological courses. FSD Handbook on Secondary Use of DataVery little has been published in Finnish on secondary use of data. A new handbook written by FSD staff members Mari Kleemola and Hannele Keckman-Koivuniemi rectifies the situation to some extent. The book gives guidelines on how to find and order relevant data, and what to take into account when using existing data. Topics cover the advantages and disadvantages of secondary us, and obligations of a re-user. The book is targeted mainly for students but is useful for anyone interested in using archived data. It has been published both in printed and electronic form.
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