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Comparative Content Analysis Of Professional, Semi-Professional, And User-Generated Restaurant Reviews, Anish Parikh, Carl Behnke, Barbera Almanza, Doug Nelson, Mihaela Vorvoreanu

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the content of professional, semi-professional, and user-generated reviews. By comparing these three review types, this study was able to identify characteristics and factors unique to each type of review. Although, the amount of discourse in a particular factor varied, food is clearly the most important review factor regardless of review type. Semi-professional reviews emphasize atmosphere and décor more than both newspaper and user-generated reviews, while price factors were more prevalent in semi-professional reviews and user-generated reviews than in newspaper reviews. Understanding the varied structures of review types provides guidance for both restaurateurs and review users.