The National SOM Survey 1986

In 1986 a series of annual surveys were initiated at the Department of Political Science, Göteborg University. It was called the SOM survey, where SOM stands for Society, Opinions and Mass media. The survey was a result of collaboration between nine different research projects at the department. The questionnaire used was divided into seven subject fields: Mass media, politics and society, energy and nuclear power, Sweden's relation to other countries, residential environment, interests and leisure activities, and social background.

The questions about mass media dealt with how often the respondent watch different television programs, morning paper reading habits, and the occurrence of incorrect and misleading information in mass media.
In the politics and society section you could find questions about the respondent´s confidence in different institutions and groups. The respondents had to give their opinion on a number of proposals occurring in the political debate, they had to place themselves on the political left-right scale, and the political parties and the party leaders on a like-dislike scale. Furthermore the respondents had to answer which party they liked most and how important it is to fulfill different goals in society the next ten years.
Questions concerning energy and nuclear power dealt with the respondent´s attitude toward nuclear power and opinion on the political parties´ energy policy. The respondents had to state how they experienced different risks in connection with the use of nuclear power. There were also questions about confidence in different institutions and groups in regard to giving information about energy and nuclear power. The respondents also had to state if they experienced that they were exposed to any risks in connection with the accident at the nuclear power station in Tjernobyl earlier that year and actions taken to protect themselves against these risks.
In the section about Sweden´s relation to other countries the respondents had to indicate how interested they were in issues concerning foreign policy, aid to developing countries, defence and trade. Furthermore they had to state what they experienced as disturbing for the future and how they believed the military and political situation to be within 10-15 years. They also had to give their opinion on a number of statements concerning foreign policy and defence.
Questions concerning the residential environment dealt with the respondents housing, how long they had lived at the present place and if they had any thoughts of moving elsewhere, and activities in organisations trying to effect the local neighbourhood. The respondents had to indicate if they during the last two years ever tried to influence the local authorities in any local issue or plan concerning the local neighbourhood.
The section about interests and leisure activities included questions on membership in organisations, interest in a number of different issues and activities, and values important for the respondent.
Social background included questions on occupation, union membership, education, vote in 1985, marital status, size of household, income, equipment in household and household´s yearly expense for a number of items.

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.

The SOM Institute also has an online tool for data analysis, where you can work with data from the national SOM surveys directly in your web browser. You can find it at www.som-institutet/dataanalys