The National SOM Survey 2006

Since 1986 the SOM-institute has been carrying out an annual nation-wide survey of Swedish opinions. This is accordingly the twentyfirst 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. In 2006 approximately one fourth 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 ten different subject fields: news and media; politics, society and democracy; Sweden's relations to the surrounding world; possession of technical equipment and internet; society and public service; environment and energy; knowledge and society; activities, interests, and values; work life; and background questions. The media questionnaire is divided into eleven subject fields: news and papers; politics, society and democracy; television and radio; possession of technical equipment, internet and mobile telephony; periodicals, books and libraries; movies and theatre; media and society; the dog in society; activities, interests, and values; work life and background questions. 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.