arXiv:2603.26930cs.CYcs.CL2026-03综述被引 1

用算法从自由文本中提取可解释的主题,让问卷回答更易分析。

In your own words: computationally identifying interpretable themes in free-text survey data

  • 基于计算框架自动识别自由文本中的结构化主题
  • 在1004人数据上生成更连贯、易懂的主题
  • 适合研究身份、健康与自我认知的学者使用

自由文本问卷能捕捉结构化问题遗漏的细节,但难以统计分析。为此,我们提出 In Your Own Words 框架,用于探索性分析自由文本数据,识别出结构清晰、可解释的主题,推动系统化研究。我们在1004名美国参与者关于种族、性别和性取向的自由文本数据上应用该方法,结果表明其生成的主题比以往计算方法更具一致性与可读性。这些主题在调查研究中有三项实际用途:一是揭示归属感、身份流动性等现有问卷未涵盖的重要概念,可指导未来设计结构化问题;二是揭示标准化类别内部的异质性,解释健康、幸福感与身份重要性中的额外变异;三是揭示自我认同与他人感知之间的系统性不一致,揭示现有测量手段未反映的误认机制。本框架可广泛应用于各类调查场景,辅助传统质性分析。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Free-text survey responses can provide nuance often missed by structured questions, but remain difficult to statistically analyze. To address this, we introduce In Your Own Words, a computational framework for exploratory analyses of free-text survey data that identifies structured, interpretable themes in free-text responses, facilitating systematic analysis. To illustrate the benefits of this approach, we apply it to a new dataset of free-text descriptions of race, gender, and sexual orientation from 1,004 U.S. participants. The themes our approach produces on this dataset are more coherent and interpretable than those produced by past computational methods. The themes have three practical applications in survey research. First, they can suggest structured questions to add to future surveys by surfacing salient constructs - such as belonging and identity fluidity - that existing surveys do not capture. Second, the themes reveal heterogeneity within standardized categories, explaining additional variation in health, well-being, and identity importance. Third, the themes illuminate systematic discordance between self-identified and perceived identities, highlighting mechanisms of misrecognition that existing measures do not reflect. More broadly, our framework can be deployed in a wide range of survey settings to identify interpretable themes from free text, complementing existing qualitative methods.

文本分析问卷研究主题建模

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