О МЕТОДИКЕ РАСЧЕТА ИНДЕКСА СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ НАСТРОЕНИЙ

Abstract

Methodical approaches to the integral measurement of social sentiments dynamics of Russia's population are set forth in the article. The author analyzes changes in sentiments of Russia's society during the recent few years on the basis of Social Sentiments Index (SSI), which is the most general indicator of societal mass sentiments development that estimates actual dynamics of the situation in the society and expresses the influence of mass conscience on the development of the country. The necessity of further improving the technique of the SSI construction is grounded that is connected, first, with the need of verifying actual effectiveness of the instrument developed ten years ago and second, with the desire to extend the spectrum of social-economical and political evaluations that are important for constructing the integral index. The results of developing and applying the new methods of constructing the SSI are presented in the article. Factor analysis shows that new points developed instead of "controversial" points of the existing technique of SSI calculation meet the task of constructing the consolidated index also from the formallystatistical point of view. Statistical analysis of the possibility of including new indices in calculations of a consolidated index of social sentiments allowed suggesting a new, extended version of SSI that also takes into account the population attitude to power structures the President and the Government. High level of positive correlation between indices calculated by different techniques also proves that these methodical changes meet the task of measuring the consolidated dynamics of social sentiments. The development of a new instrument allowed not only to replenish the existing technique of constructing the consolidated index of social sentiments dynamics Social Sentiments Index (SSI), but also to widen the understanding and ways of measuring the processes of mass sentiments formation. Both new indices confirm the dynamic evaluations of social sentiments that are now being measured by the SSI. But the disturbing fact is that extension of the factors spectrum of social sentiments formation provided by the improved technique of calculation shows much more significant aggravation of social sentiments. ; Methodical approaches to the integral measurement of social sentiments dynamics of Russia's population are set forth in the article. The author analyzes changes in sentiments of Russia's society during the recent few years on the basis of Social Sentiments Index (SSI), which is the most general indicator of societal mass sentiments development that estimates actual dynamics of the situation in the society and expresses the influence of mass conscience on the development of the country. The necessity of further improving the technique of the SSI construction is grounded that is connected, first, with the need of verifying actual effectiveness of the instrument developed ten years ago and second, with the desire to extend the spectrum of social-economical and political evaluations that are important for constructing the integral index. The results of developing and applying the new methods of constructing the SSI are presented in the article. Factor analysis shows that new points developed instead of "controversial" points of the existing technique of SSI calculation meet the task of constructing the consolidated index also from the formallystatistical point of view. Statistical analysis of the possibility of including new indices in calculations of a consolidated index of social sentiments allowed suggesting a new, extended version of SSI that also takes into account the population attitude to power structures the President and the Government. High level of positive correlation between indices calculated by different techniques also proves that these methodical changes meet the task of measuring the consolidated dynamics of social sentiments. The development of a new instrument allowed not only to replenish the existing technique of constructing the consolidated index of social sentiments dynamics Social Sentiments Index (SSI), but also to widen the understanding and ways of measuring the processes of mass sentiments formation. Both new indices confirm the dynamic evaluations of social sentiments that are now being measured by the SSI. But the disturbing fact is that extension of the factors spectrum of social sentiments formation provided by the improved technique of calculation shows much more significant aggravation of social sentiments.