What are Opinions? Integrating Theory and Methods for Automatically Analyzing Opinionated Communication (OPINION) is an international network of researchers collaborating to develop and integrate conceptual foundations, computational measurement strategies, and research agendas for the study of textual expressions of evaluative opinions.
As a concerted effort to address one of the key challenges in the study of digital textual data, OPINION advances a trans-disciplinary, multilingual, culturally sensitive, and collaborative approach to studying opinionated communication. Carlos Cunha and member Elena Negrea Busuioc organized WG1’s most recent meeting at Iscte – Knowledge and Innovation in September 11-12.
Work Group 1 – Theory is led by Chair Agnieszka Stępińskaand Vice-Chairs Carlos Cunha and Gabriella Szabó. In addition to past deliverables (1. Literature Review, 2. Glossary), WG1 now met to work on its third deliverable, a Manifesto on conceptual criteria and dimensions of textually expressed opinions and resulting research agenda.
In preparing the Manifesto to be presented to varied stakeholder groups (journalists, politicians, pollsters, scholars, educators, NGO representatives, digital industry/big tech, marketing/advertising, and citizens), several questions were addressed, including:
- What do we want to communicate to these stakeholders?
- What do stakeholders want to know?
- How do we tailor content for each stakeholder group?
The goal was to collaboratively define the content of the Manifesto which will be available in late 2025.
