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Quantitative Discourse Analysis at Scale - AI, NLP and the Transformer Revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Lachlan O'Neill

    (SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School)

  • Nandini Anantharama

    (SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School)

  • Wray Buntine

    (Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University)

  • Simon D Angus

    (Dept. of Economics and SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School)

Abstract

Empirical social science requires structured data. Traditionally, these data have arisen from statistical agencies, surveys, or other controlled settings. But what of language, political speech, and discourse more generally? Can text be data? Until very recently, the journey from text to data has relied on human coding, severely limiting study scope. Here, we introduce natural language processing (NLP), a field of artificial intelligence (AI), and its application to discourse analysis at scale. We introduce AI/NLP’s key terminology, concepts, and techniques, and demonstrate its application to the social sciences. In so doing, we emphasise a major shift in AI/NLP technological capability now underway, due largely to the development of transformer models. Our aim is to provide the quantitative social scientists with both a guide to state-of-the-art AI/NLP in general, and something of a road-map for the transformer revolution now sweeping through the landscape.

Suggested Citation

  • Lachlan O'Neill & Nandini Anantharama & Wray Buntine & Simon D Angus, 2021. "Quantitative Discourse Analysis at Scale - AI, NLP and the Transformer Revolution," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2021-12, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajr:sodwps:2021-12
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    text as data; artificial intelligence; machine learning; natural language processing; transformer models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C45 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Neural Networks and Related Topics
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • C55 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis

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