Research on Public Perception of Academic Achievements under Public Health Emergencies

The public perception of academic achievements under public health emergencies directly affects the recognition and release of the social value of the achievements. Analyzing this relationship will help improve the theories and methods of assessing the social impact of academic achievements. The study selected posts and user interaction data mentioning academic achievements on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, during the COVID-19 pandemic as samples. Combining with public perception theory, we analyzed the public's comments and reposted texts, aiming to reveal the public's attention to academic achievements and their emotional attitudes. We found the public generally has a positive attitude of respect and trust toward academic achievements, researchers, and bloggers. The dissemination of academic achievements has a positive influence on the public's cognition and behavior. However, there are still some critical and questioning voices. In order to further improve the social impact assessment and promote the dissemination and influence of academic achievements among the public, it is recommended to fully explore the social media data that can be used for the social impact assessment, and build public trust in academic achievements through various stakeholders, such as researchers, mainstream media, and government departments.