Abstract: The COPHEE end station at the Swiss Light Source can provide the three spatial components of the expectation value of the spin polarization. Combined with our vectorial analysis method this allows us to determine the spin polarization vector for any region in momentum space. After an introduction to this technique I will demonstrate its possibilities (and challenges) for a variety of systems where the spin texture is determined by spin-orbit interaction. A microscopic description of this effect provides an effective pathway towards the manipulation of spin structures. It will be shown that many findings obtained for trivial systems can also be applied to topological insulators.