Understanding opinion in a world of abundant information

Every day, billions of opinions are formed, shared and acted upon.

They influence elections, businesses, charities, public services, communities and families. They shape almost every important collective decision we make.

Yet despite their importance, there is no widely recognised discipline devoted to understanding opinion itself: how opinions are formed, how they relate to one another, how they interact with evidence, how they change over time, and how they shape decisions.

Opinionomics is an emerging framework that seeks to address that gap.

It draws together ideas from political science, economics, psychology, sociology, philosophy, statistics and artificial intelligence to better understand opinion and improve decision-making.

This website introduces the concept, explores its foundations and sets out why we believe the systematic study of opinion may become one of the defining intellectual challenges of the twenty-first century.

The project currently consists of three complementary parts.

The essay that sets out the case for Opinionomics

Every day, millions – if not billions – of opinions are expressed through elections, opinion polls, newspaper comments, WhatsApp groups, public consultations, conversations between neighbours and arguments on social media. They influence governments, businesses, charities, schools, hospitals, faith groups and families. They shape almost every collective decision we make.

Continue reading the Founding Essay

Explore the core concepts that underpin the discipline.

Opinionomics is an emerging framework for the study of opinion: how it forms, how it is expressed, how it moves through institutions and systems of power, how it interacts with evidence, and how it shapes decisions. Its definitions, methods and boundaries will need to develop through research, criticism and use. These ideas provide a starting point.

Explore the Foundational Ideas

Learn more about the project and its aims.

Opinionomics is an emerging framework for the study of opinion: how it forms, how it is expressed, how it changes, how it moves through institutions and systems of power, how it interacts with evidence, and how it shapes decisions. This website exists to develop and test that idea. Opinionomics is not presented as a finished discipline. Its definitions, methods and boundaries will need to evolve through research, criticism and use. The purpose of the site is to set out the central ideas, invite challenge and encourage others to explore whether the framework is useful.

Learn more about Opinionomics

Opinionomics is an emerging framework developed by the team behind Suffrago.