IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v14y2024i4p21582440241303578.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Use of the Baidu Index to Measure Public Attention in China on the China–Myanmar Border

Author

Listed:
  • Qinyi Tan
  • Yingying Yang
  • Benjian Lu
  • Hanxu He
  • Luyan Teng

Abstract

As one of the most unstable border areas, the China–Myanmar border has become a prevalent issue in international affairs in recent years, affecting a variety of policy debates from illegal immigration, illicit trade, geopolitical strategy, and continental bilateral cooperation. Baidu, currently the leading online search engine in China, has created the Baidu Index to gather and analyze internet search data. This study analyzed keyword searches on the Baidu Index related to the China–Myanmar border for the period 2011–2021. The study investigated search volume using trend research, demand mapping, and geographic and demographic distribution. The results showed steady growth throughout the 10-year research period for online searches on the China–Myanmar border, with a dramatic increase in 2015. Searches were mainly by men aged 20–39 years in southwest China. Baidu users were most interested in the trafficking of women and girls, followed by the 2015 Kokang conflict and ongoing COVID-19 cases in Ruili, Yunnan Province. Search trend data suggested that the fastest-growing topics of interest were maps of the China–Myanmar border, followed by militarized conflicts along the border. Policymakers can use the results of this study to understand the public concern about the China–Myanmar border in formulating more effective public governance measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Qinyi Tan & Yingying Yang & Benjian Lu & Hanxu He & Luyan Teng, 2024. "Use of the Baidu Index to Measure Public Attention in China on the China–Myanmar Border," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:4:p:21582440241303578
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440241303578
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440241303578
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440241303578?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:4:p:21582440241303578. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.