ABSTRACT

Topic modeling has become an effective tool for communication scholars to explore large amounts of texts. However, empirical studies applying topic modeling often face the critical question of making meaningful theoretical contributions. In this study, we highlighted the importance of theoretical underpinning, the research design, and the methodological details of topic modeling studies. We summarized five normative arguments that address critical issues in theory building and testing, research design, and reliability and validity assessments. Using these normative arguments as criteria, we systematically reviewed 105 communication studies that applied topic modeling. We identified gaps and missed opportunities in previous studies and discussed potential pitfalls for the field.

摘要

主题建模已成为传播学学者探索大量文本的有效工具。然而，应用主题建模的实证研究经常面临做出有意义的理论贡献的关键问题。在这项研究中，我们强调了主题建模研究的理论基础、研究设计和方法细节的重要性。我们总结了五个规范性论点，解决理论构建和测试、研究设计以及可靠性和有效性评估中的关键问题。以这些规范论点为标准，我们系统地回顾了 105 项应用主题建模的传播研究。我们发现了之前研究中的差距和错失的机会，并讨论了该领域的潜在陷阱。