Sentiment Analysis in SocMedia

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Public sentiment is a crucial ballast for political, economic, and social practices. Leaders, products, and social trends have risen and fallen on the tide of public opinion. Sentiment analysis allows us to delve into the emotions, opinions and intentions of groups and individuals. The proliferation of social media platforms provides an unprecedented resource for sentiment analysis. In this course, we will explore concepts and practices of sentiment analysis. We will primarily utilize R Studio. No prior knowledge of R or R Studio is necessary. Students will learn relevant mathematical techniques in a supportive, highly verbal manner. We will collaborate on web scraping social media sites, data management, analysis, and visualization together in class. We will explore techniques, including Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. Students will have the opportunity to both learn and practice their analysis skills on their own research interests. Students will produce a research paper on a research question of their choosing using the skills they have learned in class.