Psychology21 papers
LLMs in qualitative psychology
Emerging applications of large language models in qualitative psychological research methodology as well as the critics.
ES
Evgeny Smirnov
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An Examination of the Use of Large Language Models to Aid Analysis of Textual Data
Tai, Robert H. et al. (2024)
- Published
- Jan 1, 2024
- Journal
- International Journal of Qualitative Methods · Vol. 23
- DOI
- 10.1177/16094069241231168
At a GlanceAI
LLMs can support reliable deductive coding of qualitative text when guided by a predefined codebook.
SummaryAI
The study tests whether an LLM can assist qualitative researchers with a core but labor-intensive task: applying predefined codes to interview text. Using three interview excerpts, a codebook, and 160 repeated LLM analyses, the authors compare model outputs with traditional human coding evaluations. They argue that LLMs can provide systematic code identification and evidence for coding decisions, potentially reducing misalignment in qualitative analysis, while emphasizing current limitations and research-practice implications.
Method SnapshotAI
The authors repeatedly prompt an LLM to apply a predefined qualitative codebook to interview excerpts and compare its coding with human evaluations.
BackgroundAI
Basic qualitative research methods, especially deductive coding and codebooks, plus a general understanding of LLMs.
An importance of a codebook used together with LLMs in qualitative analysis
— ES