The National SOM Survey 2003

Since 1986 the SOM-institute has been carrying out an annual nation-wide survey of Swedish opinions. This is accordingly the eighteenth survey in this series. The SOM-institute is a collaboration between three departments at Göteborg University: the Institute for Journalism and Mass Communication, the Department of Political Science, and the School of Public Administration. Since 1998 the survey includes two nation representative samples and uses two different mail questionnaires. One of the questionnaires mainly deals with questions on politics, economy and working life, while the other mainly deals with media, culture and health. One third of the questions asked in the two questionnaires are common for both samples, for example questions about media habits, political attitudes, leisure activities, and social background. The questionnaire on politics include twelve different subject fields: news; politics and society; Sweden and the surrounding world; mass media, the internet, and possession of technical equipment; society, public service and democracy; consumption and society; knowledge and society; environment and energy; industry and work; activities and interests; work life; and background questions. The media questionnaire is divided into ten subject fields: news and daily papers; politics and society; radio and television; possession of technical equipment, the internet and other media; books, periodicals, and libraries; 'Your view on the morning paper and other media'; activities and interests; work life; background questions; and 'Your yesterday'. Purpose: The main purpose is to establish time series that enable researchers to analyse how various changes in society affect people's attitudes and behaviour.