Text mining e analisi ermeneutica: il caso delle pratiche di volontariato internazionale

It is well known that the biographical interview is a tool used to gather information about the interviewee’s experience and worldview. There are different techniques for analysing interviews, both qualitative and quantitative. This paper describes a methodology for the analysis of interviews, based on a mixed-method approach, which integrates statistical techniques of textual analysis with hermeneutic analysis in order to facilitate the work of the researcher and to offer a synthetic, structured and in-depth view of the information collected. The procedure includes a first phase in which the method of Emotional text Mining (ETM) is used to analyse the interviews with the aim of constructing a synthetic framework that returns the symbolic-cultural matrix and identity representations emerging from the discourses of the interviewees. This procedure provides an outline that supports the subsequent phase of hermeneutic content analysis, which allows us to observe the more specific aspects of the narratives placed in connection with the theoretical model that guides the research. The procedure proceeds from a maximum level of synthesis, which is more easily reached through statistical analysis, to a maximum level of detail of the information, thanks to the use of the interpretative tools of “classical” qualitative analysis. The method described does not only provide a guide that facilitates the work of the researcher, but provides an overall framework that supports the process of understanding the phenomenon under investigation.