Abstract

The term “public opinion” (or “mass opinion”, “public sentiment”, “public voices”, etc.) comes from the Latin “opinio”, which means uncertain judgments that have not been fully demonstrated. Later, with the rise of Western humanism, the idea of “public opinion” came into being, which refers to the social and political attitudes of the people towards state administrators. Communication studies, which give a theoretical framework and methodological guidelines for examining the relationship between the mass media, the public, and policy agendas, are strongly linked to the development of public opinion research. Based on the Connected Papers, a document visualization research tool, this article reviews the related literature of public opinion research in a broad sense in the West, and explores the development and themes of the field. It provides a theoretical basis for the expansion of public opinion constructs and, at the same time, a reference for the further development of public opinion research methods.

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