A Mixed-Methods Examination of Morality Work Through Sentiment Analysis and Qualitative Coding of Twitter Data

When the video of professional American football player, Ray Rice, punching his fiancé Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City, New Jersey casino elevator was released, social media reactions varied but were predominantly negative. When Janay Palmer married Ray Rice and then publicly defended him, her abuser, social media reactions shifted in sentiment to become less negative about her victimization. This shift in sentiment was a result of a shift in the target of moral judgment. This case study outlines the methods used to both quantitatively analyze Twitter data for overall public sentiment and qualitatively analyze the same data to discover details in the changing discourse.