Abstract: [Purpose/significance] To realize a panoramic view of the status of foreign network public opinion research, and to lay an important foundation for the domestic network public opinion research and network public opinion governance practice. [Method/process] Based on Web of Science database, taking the foreign research literature related the network public opinion in recent 17 years as the sample, this paper applies the bibliometrics method and Cite Space V, a visualized knowledge network analysis tool, to make an in-depth exploration of the current situation, research base, hot topics, etc. of foreign studies on network public opinion. [Result/conclusion] The results show: during the past seventeen years, the number of academic papers on network public opinion is mainly characterized by a sharp upward trend; the research foundation focuses on the “antecedents” of public opinion (agenda setting, framework analysis), the formation of public opinion “process” (silent spiral, RAS model), and the “consequences” of network public opinion (political participation, government trust); hot topics include the determinants of online public opinion, monitoring and analysis of online public opinion, and the influence of online public opinion on public political participation. Finally, based on the foreign research of public opinion, this paper gives some suggestions to study online public opinion.
Keywords: network public opinion; research base; bibliometric analysis; visualization analysis