# IQSS Text-as-Data Conference in the News October 08, 2013 IQSS affiliate Arthur Spirling recently co-organized the 2013 New Directions in Analyzing Text as Data conference in London.The event brings together researchers in various fields to share new developments and trends in statistical natural language processing, data collection, and analysis. In the [*Washington Post* Monkey Cage blog](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2013/09/28/the-rise-of-the-machines-in-the-study-of-politics-5-things-i-learned-from-studies-using-textasdata/), Josh Tucker (NYU) explains how the the conference represents a growing and dynamic field and highlights some of the topics discussed. Speakers this year shared ideas and findings on topics including perceptions of US-China relations; media coverage of climate change; British newspaper portrayal of migrant groups; and methods in data mining and cloud computing. For details on discussion topics and conference participants, please visit the [2013 New Directions in Analyzing Text as Data conference agenda page](http://www.kenbenoit.net/new-directions-in-analyzing-text-as-data-workshop-2013/). [Spirling](http://iq.harvard.edu/people/arthur-spirling), John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and director of the Program on Text Research at IQSS, collaborated with Ken Benoit (LSE) and Daniel Diermeier (Northwestern) in coordinating the annual conference, which is jointly sponsored by the IQSS Program on Text Research (PTR), the Ford Center for Global Citizenship at Northwestern University, and the London School of Economics (LSE) Department of Methodology. IQSS affiliates [Erin Baggott](http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/iqss/people/erin-baggott), [Michael Gill](/people/michael-gill), [Andrew Hall](/people/andrew-hall), and [Brandon Stewart](/people/brandon-stewart) presented papers at the conference, as did Constantine Boussalis of Harvard Law School, who was joined by HLS colleague Travis Coan. The [Program on Text Research](http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/ptr) is a multi-disciplinary research venture that fosters research, cooperation, and education in statistical text analysis for scholars within the University and the broader academic community. The more recent collaboration with LSE and Northwestern is part of a movement to bring IQSS and its text-as-data work to a broader academic and policy audience. \[\[{"fid":"121886","view\_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"322","width":"450","style":"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;","alt":"(From left) Michael Gill, Andrew Hall, Arthur Spirling, Erin Baggott. Gill and Hall had a paper on text use by judges, discussed by former IQSS affiliate, Kevin Quinn. Baggott presented her work on US-Chinese relations.","title":"(From left) Michael Gill, Andrew Hall, Arthur Spirling, Erin Baggott. Gill and Hall had a paper on text use by judges, discussed by former IQSS affiliate, Kevin Quinn. Baggott presented her work on US-Chinese relations.","class":"media-element file-default"}}\]\] ***(From left) Michael Gill, Andrew Hall, Arthur Spirling, Erin Baggott. Gill and Hall had a paper on text use by judges, discussed by former IQSS affiliate Kevin Quinn. Baggott presented her work on US-Chinese relations.*** \[\[{"fid":"121896","view\_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"322","width":"450","style":"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;","alt":"Amber Boystun (UC Davis) presents a coauthored paper on media frames.","title":"Amber Boystun (UC Davis) presents a coauthored paper on media frames.","class":"media-element file-default"}}\]\] ***Amber Boystun (UC Davis) presents a coauthored paper on media frames.*** \[\[{"fid":"121891","view\_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"322","width":"450","alt":"Brandon Stewart (left, second row) had a paper coauthored with IQSS affiliate Dustin Tingley (among others) on dealing with open ended responses in surveys. Daniel Diermeier and Ken Benoit (front row) coorganized the conference.","title":"Brandon Stewart (left, second row) had a paper coauthored with IQSS affiliate Dustin Tingley (among others) on dealing with open ended responses in surveys. Daniel Diermeier and Ken Benoit (front row) coorganized the conference.","class":"media-element file-default"}}\]\] ***Brandon Stewart (left, second row) had a paper coauthored with IQSS affiliate Dustin Tingley (among others) on dealing with open ended responses in surveys. Daniel Diermeier and Ken Benoit (front row) coorganized the conference.*** Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)