ST. PAUL, Minn. -- We place our trust in a free press to provide accurate coverage of global and local events. Everyday people from around the world fetch the morning paper, listen to drive-time news, or catch a glimpse of the dayís events on television. The media not only record and summarize events, but they help shape our opinions and beliefs as well. Increasingly, researchers tap into this vast electronic record to explore in depth and detail the many attitudes, beliefs, values, motivations, and meanings related to current issues.
Today, because of custom software and large commercial databases focused on media text, social scientists can quickly identify and analyze the trends, beliefs, and attitudes of the public through time. In a recently published collection of papers, Applications of Computer-Aided Text Analysis in Natural Resources, edited by David Bengston, 13 researchers report that text analysis software can produce results that parallel the findings of surveys and opinion polls at a fraction of the cost of traditional sampling strategies.
Bengston explained, "the beauty of this approach is that an analysis can be extended back in time to establish trends that examine the rate and direction of change rather than just a snapshot on a specific date. Strategic planners should find the analysis tools especially useful."
Computer-aided text analysis can be used to answer a wide range of natural resource questions or to monitor the changing social environment using text from interviews, open-ended surveys, the news media, stakeholder meetings or other sources.
"Natural resources have always been managed in response to changing social values and attitudes and these tools are an excellent way to monitor social change," Bengston concluded.
For further information on computer-aided text analysis ask for a copy of, Applications of Computer-Aided Text Analysis in Natural Resources, General Technical Report NC-211, edited by David N. Bengston.
Copies may be ordered through:
USDA Forest Service
North Central Research Station
Publication Distribution Center
1 Gifford Pinchot Drive
Madison, WI 53705-2398
Phone: 608-231-9248
David Bengston can be reached via email at dbengston@fs.fed.us or by phone at 651-649-5162