Discoursinformatie

Discoursinformatie is an interdisciplinary concept that refers to the systematic collection, analysis, and representation of information about discourse practices in societies. It combines elements of discourse analysis, communication studies, and information science, with a focus on how language, media, and social contexts co‑construct meaning.

The term emerged in Dutch academia in the late 1980s as a response to a growing need for tools that could capture the dynamics of public debate and media framing. Early pioneers such as neuropsychologist Jos van der Velden and media researcher Maria Naber coined the phrase to describe datasets that combine linguistic corpora, metadata, and contextual annotations. Their work laid a methodological foundation that later extended to computational discourse research, enabling large scale studies of political speeches, news coverage, and online discussions.

Discoursinformatie has practical applications in journalism, public relations, and policy evaluation. By mapping discourse structures—such as narrative arcs, power relations, and rhetorical strategies—analysts can assess how information is framed, how audiences are influenced, and how political agendas are constructed. In the public policy sphere, it assists governments in monitoring media coverage of legislative initiatives, ensuring transparency of the democratic process.

Key theoretical influences include critical discourse analysis, framing theory, and agenda‑setting theory. The approach emphasizes the interdependence between linguistic choices and socio‑political contexts, treating discourse not as a static text but as an evolving interaction. This perspective is increasingly relevant in the digital age, where real‑time monitoring of social media discourse requires efficient methods for indexing and interpreting vast volumes of textual data.

Researchers employ a variety of tools—from manual coding frameworks to natural language processing algorithms—to create discourse‑information databases. These resources support evidence‑based communication strategies, enable comparative studies across languages, and contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of language in shaping public opinion.