Dictionaries

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This week we focus on dictionary-based text classification, including sentiment analysis. We will look at how to create and apply dictionaries to classify text data based on the presence of specific words or phrases associated with particular categories or sentiments.

Required Readings

• Grimmer, Roberts & Stewart 2022 Ch 16 Word Counting;
• Jurafsky and Martin 2026 Ch 22 Lexicons for Sentiment, Affect, and Connotation

Additional Readings

• Lori Young and Stuart Soroka. 2012. “Affective News: The Automated Coding of Sentiment in Political Texts.” Political Communication 29 (2): 205–231. https://doi.org/10. 1080/10584609.2012.671234
• Michael Laver and John Garry. 2000. “Estimating Policy Positions from Political Texts.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (3): 619–634

Tutorial

• Working with dictionaries