| Author: | Chan, Po Ling Pauline |
| Title: | Evaluative language in editor product reviews of search products vs experience products |
| Advisors: | Ho, Victor (ENGL) |
| Degree: | M.A. |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Subject: | Consumer goods -- Evaluation. Consumer satisfaction -- Evaluation. English language -- Usage. Evaluation -- Terminology. Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of English |
| Pages: | v, 93 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | With the growth of online retailing business, the availability of product reviews has become an emerging market phenomenon that changes the landscape of communication. This kind of ubiquitous genre is believed to be playing an important role in consumer decision making process and the sales of products. There are generally two types of products: experience products, whose dominant attributes can only be accurately assessed after consumption, as opposed to search goods, whose dominant attributes can be evaluated prior to purchase. There is much research on the impact on consumer buying behavior, but only little research has been done to examine their evaluative language. In total, 100 online product editor reviews has been analyzed in this study by employing Appraisal theory. Electronic products are chosen as the representatives of search products while cosmetics are selected as the representatives of experience products. This study shows that both types of editors tend to include much evaluative language in their reviews and they like to make appreciation on products more than express their direct emotion or make judgment on people. Editors of experience products prefer to evaluate a little more than to the editors of search products by giving more appreciation on the quality of the goods than the search product reviews whereas search product reviewers make evaluation more on the value of the products. The results of the comparison can have important implications for discourse on different product types. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b29170722.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.71 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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