Statistical analysis of literature: A retrospective on Computers and the Humanities, 1966–1990

This retrospective on statistical analysis of literature in the first twenty-four years of Computers and the Humanities divides the essays under review into four groups: the philosophical, the statistical analyses of language, the statistical analyses of literary texts, and the statistical analyses of themes. It begins with the question: must valid statistical analysis of any literary text be based on a complete linguistic description of the language of the text? It summarizes and evaluates over forty essays, giving details on works discussed, sample sizes used, statistical methods applied, and quotations from the researchers. The essay ends with a polemical summary of what has been done and what the future holds. It emphasizes the importance of extended pre-computational stages of learning about language and discourse analysis; reading previous research, building on and challenging theory; and the use of carefully crafted, small databases to test specific questions.