Rethinking Public Opinion Studies in the Digital Era: Expert Discourse on the Theoretical and Methodological Challenges of Public Opinion Research

The goal of our study was twofold. First, we aimed to recognize how concepts, factors, and artificial intelligence-driven challenges in research on public opinion vary across experts with different experiences in the field. Second, we examined how experts envision the future of the field in the evolving media landscape. We invited public opinion scholars from more than 30 countries to participate in the survey. Findings showed that public opinion scholars, regardless of their experience level and area of study, perceived opinion formation and respondent bias as 2 significant challenges to their studies. The thematic analysis highlighted a dual challenge for scholars and experts: addressing technical methodological hurdles while rethinking theoretical frameworks for public opinion research in the digital era.