A new AI tool called DECOTA helps understand what people think by analyzing their survey answers. It finds common themes in open-ended responses, where people write their opinions freely. DECOTA stands for Deep Computational Text Analyser. Researchers at the University of Bath created it. They published their findings in Psychological Methods.
DECOTA works much faster than humans. It analyzes data 380 times quicker and costs 1,900 times less. It agrees with human results 92% of the time.
DECOTA uses large language models, fine-tuned to this specific task. The tool looks at free-text responses and groups them into themes and sub-themes. This usually takes a lot of time, but DECOTA makes this process easier and faster.
Originally, researchers built DECOTA to study opinions on climate policies. Now, it works for many topics. Four UK government groups, universities, and global think tanks show interest in it. In a press release, researcher Lois Player says DECOTA handles thousands of responses that humans can’t analyze manually. It summarizes what people care about most.
High accuracy, low cost
DECOTA uses thematic analysis to group similar ideas together. Humans usually do this, but DECOTA uses AI instead. It has a six-step process. Two fine-tuned language models and a clustering method find themes. Clustering groups similar data points. DECOTA analyzed four datasets and found 92% of sub-themes and 90% of main themes humans identified. It took only 10 minutes, while humans needed 63 hours.
The tool saves money too. DECOTA analyzes 1,000 responses for $0.82. A human researcher, paid $25 per hour, costs $1,575. DECOTA is also faster and cheaper than other AI methods, like topic modeling. Player says DECOTA supports human work, not replaces it. It lets researchers focus on deeper analysis.
DECOTA also shows which groups mention certain themes. For example, it can tell if women or younger people highlight specific issues more. It picks out quotes to explain results clearly. DECOTA is transparent, and researchers can check every step. All its code is free online. The researchers believe DECOTA will help policymakers hear public voices better.
