> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://bcds.gitbook.io/handbook/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://bcds.gitbook.io/handbook/digital-scholarship-methods/overview/text-analysis.md).
# ¶ Text Analysis
Text analysis involves using digital tools and one’s own analytical skills to explore texts, be they literary works, historical documents, scientific literature, or tweets. Approaches can be quantitative (e.g., word counting) and qualitative (e.g., [topic modeling ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_model)and [sentiment analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentiment_analysis)), and tools can range from coding and scripting languages to "out of the box" platforms like [Voyant](https://voyant-tools.org/) and [Lexos](http://lexos.wheatoncollege.edu/upload).
In the humanities, text analysis is closely associated with the concept of [distant reading](https://walshbr.com/textanalysiscoursebook/book/reading-at-scale/distant-reading/), which essentially means using computational methods to explore and query large (sometimes massive) corpora. The corpa or datasets, as they are more commonly called in the sciences and social sciences, can be structured or unstructured, and the results can have a data visualization component.
**Related Terms:**
* **Text mining** (a term used more in the humanities), **data mining** (a term used more in the sciences and social sciences), and **web scraping** are techniques that use coding, scripting, and "out of the box" tools to gather text and create a corpus (or dataset).
---
# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.
## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:
```
GET https://bcds.gitbook.io/handbook/digital-scholarship-methods/overview/text-analysis.md?ask=&goal=
```
`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.