Role of Government, 1996, Norwegian part of ISSP

This survey is carried out on the basis of the research collaboration in "The International Social Survey Programme" (ISSP). ISSP is an international organisation that prepares and coordinates annual surveys in its member countries, mainly within the fields of political science and sociology. The topics of the surveys vary, but are repeated at intervals of a few years. In this way, changes in behavioral patterns and attitudes over time as well as differences between countries and cultures, are possible to be detected and measured.

The Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) became a member of ISSP in 1989 and have since been responsible for carrying out the surveys in Norway. In connection to the survey, Norwegian researchers are invited to add supplementary questions to the Norwegian respondents.

In 1996, the objective of the survey was to collect data concerning attitudes to public authorities and government activity, compliance with laws, political rights, political participation, trust in authorities, perception of influence in politics. justice errors, taxes and redistribution, government commitment and responsibility, the power of trade unions and businesses and political interest. NSD and ISSP conducted similar surveys in 1990 and 2006.

The Norwegian addition to the survey was prepared in 1996 in collaboration with Per Lægreid from Department of Administration and Organization Theory, University of Bergen and the NSD reference group of survey research. The members of the reference group was Knud Knudsen, Stavanger University College, Hege Torp, Institute for Social Research and Ola Listhaug, Department of Sociology and Political Science, NTNU. Questions in the Norwegian part deal with issues such as trust in the authorities, public sector reorganisation, public or private management of municipal services and municipal equalisation.