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Swedish election study 1956

SND-ID: snd0020-1. Version: 2.0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/002507

Is part of collection at SND: Swedish Election Studies - Parliamentary elections

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Citation

Alternative title

VU56

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Jörgen Westerståhl - University of Gothenburg, Department of Political Science

Bo Särlvik - University of Gothenburg, Department of Political Science

Research principal

University of Gothenburg - Department of Political Science rorId

Description

In the first Swedish election study the respondents were interviewed twice, once before and once after the parliamentary election in September 1956. The pre-election schedule contained questions regarding interest in the election and attention to election programs in radio, and also about the respondent´s newspaper reading habits. The respondent had to point out possible retrenchment sectors and to indicate the sectors in which cuts should not be made in public expenditure, and also point out other areas for political change. Questions about trade union affiliation, union activity and opinion of the union, membership in temperance societies, free churches and church attendance were asked. The respondent had to give a prediction for the election outcome and the respondent´s political knowledge was measured through photography identification. Other questions dealt with direction and strength of party identification and political history of respondent and the respondent´s father, respondent´s interest in politics and especially the interest in the election 1956, opinion on the political parties,

... Show more..
In the first Swedish election study the respondents were interviewed twice, once before and once after the parliamentary election in September 1956. The pre-election schedule contained questions regarding interest in the election and attention to election programs in radio, and also about the respondent´s newspaper reading habits. The respondent had to point out possible retrenchment sectors and to indicate the sectors in which cuts should not be made in public expenditure, and also point out other areas for political change. Questions about trade union affiliation, union activity and opinion of the union, membership in temperance societies, free churches and church attendance were asked. The respondent had to give a prediction for the election outcome and the respondent´s political knowledge was measured through photography identification. Other questions dealt with direction and strength of party identification and political history of respondent and the respondent´s father, respondent´s interest in politics and especially the interest in the election 1956, opinion on the political parties, and degree of political interaction with family and friends. The post-election interview concentrated on the election campaign and the actual vote, when the respondent decided how to vote, if she/he changed party since last election and if this was influenced of family or friends, but there were also questions about the war risk in Europe, especially the threat of the atomic bomb, and about the Swedish defense.

Purpose:

Explain why people vote as they do and why an election ends in a particular way. Track and follow trends in the Swedish electoral democracy and make comparisons with other countries. Show less..

Data contains personal data

No

Language

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis

Population

Individuals aged 21-80 years, residing in Sweden and eligible to vote in the parliamentary election 1956

Time Method

Sampling procedure

The sample was drawn from Statistics Sweden Survey Research Centres sampling framework. The framework consisted of a nation-wide set of primary sampling units which provide the framework for a ´general purpose´ two-stage population sample. Respondents not included in the target population because of ineligibility to vote are excluded from the sample. The target population even includes Swedes resident abroad, but these are not included in the sample. People above 80 years of age at the time of the study are excluded in order to avoid the difficulties encountered in interviewing very old people.

Time period(s) investigated

1956-08-28 – 1956-09-30

Variables

220

Number of individuals/objects

1131

Response rate/participation rate

95%

Data format / data structure

Data collection

Data collection 1

  • Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1956-08-28 – 1956-09-14
  • Data collector: Statistics Sweden
  • Instrument: (Semi-structured questionnaire)
  • Instrument: Frågeformulär förval (Questionnaire)
  • Source of the data: Registers/Records/Accounts: Administrative, Registers/Records/Accounts: Voting results, Population group, Registers/Records/Accounts

Data collection 2

  • Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1956-09-18 – 1956-09-30
  • Data collector: Statistics Sweden
  • Instrument: (Semi-structured questionnaire)
  • Instrument: Frågeformulär efterval (Questionnaire)
  • Source of the data: Registers/Records/Accounts: Administrative, Registers/Records/Accounts: Voting results, Population group, Registers/Records/Accounts
Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Sweden

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Department of Political Science

Funding 1

  • Funding agency: Conservative Party

Funding 2

  • Funding agency: Agrarian Party

Funding 3

  • Funding agency: Swedish Broadcasting Service

Funding 4

  • Funding agency: Social Democratic Party

Funding 5

  • Funding agency: University of Gothenburg, The foundation för sociological research at University of Gothenburg
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Funding 1

  • Funding agency: Conservative Party

Funding 2

  • Funding agency: Agrarian Party

Funding 3

  • Funding agency: Swedish Broadcasting Service

Funding 4

  • Funding agency: Social Democratic Party

Funding 5

  • Funding agency: University of Gothenburg, The foundation för sociological research at University of Gothenburg

Funding 6

  • Funding agency: Swedish Social Science and Legal Research Council

Funding 7

  • Funding agency: Liberal Party
Show less..
Topic and keywords

Research area

Elections (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Social sciences (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Political science (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Media (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Keywords

Developing countries, Elections, Housing, Mass media, Population migration, Defence, Occupations, Participation, Politics, Public sector, Religion, Social mobility, Voting, Political interest, Political behaviour, Political allegiance, Political participation, Internal politics, Political parties, Political leaders, Trade unions, Political attitudes, Lobbying, Cors

Publications

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Petersson, O. (1975) Change in Swedish political behavior. Göteborg studies in politics, 5. Göteborg: Department of Political Science. ISBN: 91-40-04067-4.
Libris | Google Books
ISBN: 9789140040671

Särlvik, B. (1970) Electoral Behavior in the Swedish Multiparty System, Göteborg: Department of Political Science.
Google Books | Libris

Westerståhl, J., & Särlvik, B. (1957) Svensk valrörelse 1956 : arbetsrapport I : intervjuundersökningen. Göteborg: Department of Political Science.

Petersson, O. (1975) Social class and electorial change : Sweden 1956-1973. Uppsala: Department of Political Science.

Elinder, M. (2008) Essays on Economic Voting, Cognitive Dissonance and Trust. Uppsala : Department of Economics, Univ. ISBN: 978-91-85519-20-0.
ISSN: 0283-7668
ISBN: 978-91-85519-20-0

Särlvik, B. (1964) Politisk rörlighet och stabilitet i valmanskåren. Särtryck ur Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 1964:4
Libris

Särlvik, B. (1968) Partibyten som mått på avstånd och dimensioner i partisystemet. Särtryck ur Sociologisk Forskning, no. 1, 1968

Holmberg, Sören (2000) Partidemokrati : en sammanfattning av några resultat från valundersökningarna 1956-1998. Stockholm: Statistics Sweden.

Oscarsson, H. (1998) Den svenska partirymden : Väljarnas uppfattningar av konfliktstrukturen i partisystemet 1956-1996. Göteborg : Department of Political Science. ISBN: 91-628-3000-7.
Libris
ISBN: 91-628-3000-7
ISSN: 0346-5942

Show more.. (9)

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.

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Versions

Version 2.0. 1984-10-01

Version 2.0: 1984-10-01

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/002507

Version 1.0. 1982-10-01

Version 1.0: 1982-10-01

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/002506

Published: 1984-10-01
Last updated: 2023-09-21