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Using Internet Search Data to Measure Changes in Social Perceptions: A Methodology and an Application *
Author(s) -
Reyes Tomas,
Majluf Nicolás,
Ibáñez Ricardo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12449
Subject(s) - measure (data warehouse) , perspective (graphical) , perception , planner , process (computing) , the internet , social planner , inequality , marketing , sociology , computer science , psychology , economics , business , world wide web , data mining , mathematics , neuroscience , microeconomics , mathematical analysis , programming language , artificial intelligence , operating system
Objectives Social perceptions in areas such as family life, economy, education, health, and energy can be uncertain and difficult to measure. This article proposes a well‐defined methodology to measure social perceptions by observing individuals’ Google searches for online content with the support of three free tools: Google Trends, Keyword Planner, and Related Searches. Methods The proposed methodology is a step‐by‐step process that identifies representative keywords for prevailing social perceptions, and then aggregates them into specialized descriptive indexes, which are designed to highlight changes in search trends over time. Results To exemplify the process, the methodology is applied to measure changes in economic and social perceptions in Chile during 2004–2014. Results show that, over these years, Chileans moved from a pro‐business view to a largely anti‐business perspective based on issues such as lucre, inequality, and abuses. Conclusions The methodology works well, as we are able to identify in two complementary ways the moment at which Chilean citizens moved from one perspective to another. The application of this methodology to Mexico, Peru, and Colombia also provided satisfactory results.