A Practical Guide to Performing Transcript Analysis on Group Conversations in Both LIWC and R

Abstract

Objective: This article serves as a practical guide for conducting computer-aided text analyses (CATA) for group scholars unfamiliar with these techniques. This article provides an outline of the process of conducting CATA as well as considerations specifically important to the study of groups. Method: Transcript data were generated to produce examples of using CATA to answer research questions. This was followed by a description and tutorial of two tools to conduct CATA on group transcripts: Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and R. Results: This article compiles practical advice and annotated computer code to aid researchers who want to use CATA to analyze group conversations. Conclusions: Though CATA is a flexible and powerful analysis tool, it is underutilized in the study of group interactions. This article demonstrates ways that both LIWC and R can be used even by novice users to increase our understanding of groups and group processes.