Complexities and nuances of online book reviews in scholarly research

Hu, Yuerong

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124648 Copy

Description

Title

Complexities and nuances of online book reviews in scholarly research

Author(s)

Hu, Yuerong

Issue Date

2024-04-08

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Downie, John Stephen

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Downie, John Stephen

Committee Member(s)

• Underwood, Ted
• Diesner, Jana
• LeBlanc, Zoe

Department of Study

Information Sciences

Discipline

Information Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Digital Humanities
• User-generated Content
• Book Reviews
• Data Quality
• Critical Data Science

Language

eng

Abstract

In the last two decades, the abundance of online book reviews has opened up unprecedented research opportunities for scholars who are interested in empirically studying the interaction between readers and books, particularly in digital humanities (DH). However, limitations and challenges have emerged from existing scholarly conceptualization and usage of such datasets in DH. In particular, the real-world complexities and nuances associated with online book reviews have been under-investigated, which poses questions about the scholarly usability of such datasets and the significance of research findings. To address these gaps, this dissertation conducts three case studies on online book ratings, ranked book lists, and textual reviews collected from Douban and Goodreads (two large online book review platforms based in China and the U.S. respectively). The case studies empirically illuminate three under-examined aspects of online book reviews: transiency, cultural dependency, and user participation dynamics. The findings of this dissertation (1) empirically reveal the real-world complexities and under-investigated features of online book reviews and their impacts on scholarly research; and, (2) demonstrate practical methods for examining and improving the scholarly usability and interpretability of such datasets for more contextualized and critical research on online book reviews

Graduation Semester

2024-05

Type of Resource

Text

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124648

Copyright and License Information

© 2024 Yuerong Hu

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