The National SOM Survey 2002

Since 1986 the SOM-institute has been carrying out an annual nation-wide survey of Swedish opinions. This is accordingly the seventeenth 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. Both questionnaires in National SOM 2002 include nine different subject fields. A large number of the questions are common for both questionnaires, hence they can be studied with double sample size. Both questionnaires include the subject fields: politics and society; possession of technical equipment and the internet; and background questions. The questionnaire on politics also include: mass media; Sweden's relationship to the surrounding world; energy, nuclear power and the future; work and industry; leisure time, interests and health; and democracy and influence. The media questionnaire include: news and papers; mass media and society; the EU summit meeting in Göteborg; libraries; leisure time; 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.