Referendum study 1994

A number of questions dealt with the respondent´s knowledge of EU; probable outcome of the Swedish and Norwegian referenda respectively, and knowledge of the actual outcome of the Finnish referendum; attitudes towards EU among the surroundings, and the importance of other people´s attitudes and arguing for one´s own attitude; and how one plans to vote in the referendum. Besides the EU-specific questions the interview included questions on attitudes toward the various political parties; opinion on a number of topical questions; confidence in Swedish politicians; type of society one ought to go in for in the future; activities to influence political decisions; and own experiences of the tightening Swedish labour market.

There are also information about education, occupation, trade union affiliation, marital status, and knowledge of languages. After the referendum the respondent had to answer a mail questionnaire, including questions on actual vote; when one decided how to vote; if one had been watching the concluding TV debate; and if the attitude towards a Swedish membership had been altered during the campaign. 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.