2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Investigation of Opinion Polarization in Online Communication: Towards an Integration of Explanation and Prediction
| Project/Area Number |
22K20182
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
呂 沢宇 東京大学, 社会科学研究所, 特任研究員 (30966312)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | 計算社会科学 / 分極化 / ソーシャルメディア / ビッグデータ解析 |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This project attempts to explore the causal mechanism and construct a predictive model of opinion polarization in online communication. In the first year, two studies were processed.
The first study employs large-scale social media data and advanced computational method to demonstrate how interparty hostility is associated with the partisan identity of both the message sender and the target in the interaction. The disparity in the extent of received offensive speech is argued to result from individuals' tendency to maintain their partisan identification by expressing hostility toward representative individuals of opposing partisan groups. The analysis also provides insights into how political polarization and inter-party hostility can mutually reinforce each other, thus contributing to the understanding of political polarization on social media.
Second, based on the social survey in which respondents’ Twitter accounts were acquired, I have collected a wide range of social media data, including users’ profile information, published content, and network. The amalgamated dataset of social media data and survey data facilitates the development of a predictive model for opinion polarization in the future.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The mechanism of political polarization has been investigated from the perspective of inter-party hostility. This research has been presented at an international academic conference and is currently undergoing peer review. Also, an amalgamated dataset consisting of both social media and survey data has been compiled for further analysis.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I will continue to advance our research at this pace. Based on the results of initial analysis, an additional survey might be conducted to augment the scale of dataset for enhancing the robustness of the predictive model. Also, I will present at academic conferences and submit the paper to the appropriate journals.
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Research Products
(2 results)
