Javno mnenje: koncept i komparativna istraživanja
Public opinion: concept and comparative research

Author(s): Dragomir Pantić, Zoran Pavlović M.
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Sociology, Political behavior, Politics and society, Methodology and research technology, Sociology of Politics
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: Public opinion; comparative research
Summary/Abstract: It is obviously very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to arrive at a generally acceptable definition of public opinion, at least in terms of the "lowest common denominator". However, it is certainly better to continue to propose definitions of public opinion than to consciously avoid this problem. Definitions of public opinion, as in the case of other complex terms in the social sciences, will always depend to a large extent on which scientific discipline the author belongs to and which narrower theory he prefers. The definition of public opinion that we offered in 1994 and further explained in this paper can be classified in the circle of social psychology, but the author aspires to its greater comprehensiveness and the possibility of application, because it represents an attempt to include provisions from definitions created in different disciplines: "Public opinion is the expression of views, formed by the common experience and interaction of interested individuals, on a disputed social issue, with the possibility that the resulting majority affects the course of action towards solving that issue". Of course, the need for a critical examination of this definition and its possible partial correction is implied.

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