Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Preprint for chapter in Digital Humanities Cookbook, published by ACRL in 2024.

Chapter Abstract:

Google Ngram is an online tool that graphs the relative frequency of words or phrases that appear over time in the millions of books digitized by Google. It is often used by digital humanists to analyze the popularity of topics, to track the rise and fall of words throughout the ages, and to explain changes in culture and history. Google Ngram is free and requires very little training to use, making it a popular tool for many. It is astonishingly convenient. Anyone can create an Ngram chart in a matter of seconds. But what are we really getting?

This recipe takes a deep dive into how Google Ngrams work. We will explore how Google Ngram charts are produced, what factors influence the results, and what conclusions may be drawn from the output.

Comments

The accompanying supplemental file contains the illustrations and chart examples mentioned in the chapter. The supplement file is an essential part of the lesson.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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