Date
Understanding and solving problems related to sustainability often involves the use of qualitative data, such such as that from surveys, interviews, or texts—i.e., information that is not in the form of numbers. In some cases, you can convert qualitative data into quantitative forms; however, there are well-developed methods for using it as is. This short video clip highlights one such method. Sentiment analysis, also called text or opinion mining, is a method used to evaluate textual data to identify themes, emotions, views, attitudes, and beliefs. It uses natural language processing, which comes from computational linguistics, to extract such information from subjective material. There are a variety of software tools available for analyzing texts, such as NVivo,® which is proprietary; but increasingly, there are also open sources-tools like those using R language and associated resources on Github.
-
About the Presenters
Image
Bonnie Keeler
Dr. Bonnie Keeler is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Bonnie's team partners with state and federal agencies, environmental and community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to co-develop solutions to environmental management and policy challenges. Bonnie's background is in sustainability science and environmental economics, particularly around the valuation of clean water. Her current projects include estimating the return on investment in public...
Image
Bonnie Keeler
Dr. Bonnie Keeler is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Bonnie's team partners with state and federal agencies, environmental and community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to co-develop solutions to environmental management and policy challenges. Bonnie's background is in sustainability science and environmental economics, particularly around the valuation of clean water. Her current projects include estimating the return on investment in public environmental funding in Minnesota; evaluating the costs and benefits of urban green infrastructure deployment in cities in the United States and globally; and investigating the cultural, social, and relational values of fresh water. She is particularly interested in projects and collaborations that integrate the humanities and the social sciences in ways that elevate environmental justice and equity considerations in ecosystem services research.
Presenters
Bonnie Keeler, University of Minnesota
Share