A Research On The Construction Of The Network-mediated Public Sentiment Information Theory System

The network-mediated public sentiment is one of the frontier areas of the public sentiment research which is a new research field of social sciences in China. The thesis consists of four parts, including the basic theory, the application theory, the empirical study and the conclusion, and aims to construct the theory system of the network-mediated public sentiment research by applying the theories of correlative research fields such as communication, journalism, sociology, social psychology and information science etc.The first part is the basic theory of the network-mediated public sentiment research involving the basic problem research and the kernel problem research. The part of the basic problem research mainly discusses the following problems: (1) Conceptual considerations. After having reviewed the research results about the conception of the public sentiment, the thesis propounds the brand-new conceptions of the public sentiment, the public sentiment information and the network-mediated public sentiment, and then distinguishes the differences between the public sentiment and the public opinion which are two similar and confusing terms. (2) The inscapes of the network-mediated public sentiment. They are the internet users, the public affair, time and space, feeling, inclinations, attitudes, opinions, the intensity, the quantity and quality. These inscapes, such as the internet users and the cyberspace, are the significant and complicated contents of the network-mediated public sentiment research. (3) The main characteristics of the network-mediated public sentiment, including those of free and controlled, instant and interactive, anonymous and explicit, emotional and irrational, plentiful and multifold, individuation and group polarization. (4) The main communication channels of the network-mediated public sentiment, including Email, Newsgroup, IM, BBS, Blog, Wiki, Podcasting and other Social Software etc. (5) The main existent form of the network-mediated public sentiment, involving the network speech and the network action.The part of the kernel problem research studies the formation pattern and the variation law of the network-mediated public sentiment. Firstly, the thesis analyses the philosophical problem of the formation and variation of the network-mediated public sentiment from the aspects of impersonality factors, practical factors and epistemology in order to lay a philosophical foundation for the public sentiment research. Secondly, the thesis propounds the main formation patterns of the public sentiment from various angles, such as the paroxysmal pattern, the progressive pattern, the interpersonal pattern, the public-media-government pattern, the linearity pattern and dynamical pattern. Thirdly, this part also expounds the variation laws of the public sentiment which are the most universal laws during the process of the formation and variation of the public sentiment. They are the law of fluctuation, the law of sequence, the law of conflict and the law of decline.The second part is the application theory of the network-mediated public sentiment research which is a crucial constituent in the whole theory system. First of all, this part constructs the lifecycle of the network-mediated public sentiment information work which consists of several procedures, including the plan of the whole work, the collection, arrangement, valuation, analysis and the early warning system of the network-mediated public sentiment information. These procedures structure the main body of the network-mediated public sentiment information work. The following two sections introduce the method and technology of the collection and analysis of the network-mediated public sentiment information. The search engine, the network investigation, RSS and the technology of the web information collection can be used to collect the network-mediated public sentiment information. The method of the analysis, such as abstract analysis, comparative analysis, analysis and synthesis, correlation analysis, content analysis and the web data mining, embodies the thoughts of combination of the qualitative analysis and the quantitative analysis.The third part concerns the empirical study. The author chooses four typical cases which are from BBS, Blog and the news comment post as the object of the study. According to the analysis results, this part reaches the following conclusions: (1) The public affair is the stimulus of the network-mediated public sentiment. (2) The network-mediated public sentiment forms under the effect of various formation patterns. (3) The change of the network-mediated public sentiment also follows the four change laws of the public sentiment.The last part is the conclusion. According to the above research, a complete and systemic theory system of the network-mediated public sentiment should follow the principle of the unity of theory and practice. Formally, the system consists of the kernel problem and a series of basic and secondary problems and propositions derived from the kernel problem. In terms of the content, combining the theory research with the application research, the system is an ideology which is structured along the kernel path of the formation and variation of the network-mediated public sentiment. Moreover, this part illustrates the signification of the combination of theory and application with the flow chart of the application of the network-mediated public sentiment and the diagram of technology used in the collection and analysis.