Dictionary-Based Programs for Content Analysis
- coan
coan is a fairly flexible program,
which
enables users to develop their own dictionaries. It performs a number of textual statistics, among
others
concordances. However, the manual is only in German available and its Windows-3.1-style interface is not
intuitive.
- Diction
Diction analysis political texts using a dictionary based on the categorization scheme developed by Roderick P. Hart.
Hart's scheme distinguishes 5 main semantic features — activity, optimism, certainty, realism and
commonality. It also attempts to analyze the tenacity of a speech. Its customization for alternative
analyses is highly limited. Whilst we have not evaluate Diction yet, consult Kimberly Neuendorf's
review of
Diction.
- General Inquirer
General
Inquirer performs content analyses with dictionaries based on the Lasswell and Harvard IV-4
dictionaries.
- TextQuest
Apart from generating
readability and stylistic statistics, TextQuest uses Colin Martindale's Regressive Imagery Dictionary,
the
Harvard Psychological Dictionary, the Hamburg
Communication Sociology Dictionary, the Dresdner Angstwörterbuch, and a dictionary for the
analysis of personals (contact ads) to analyze written texts.
