Sentiment Analysis in Social Networks: a Study on Vehicles

This paper presents partial results of a research project that aims to create a process of sentiment analysis based on ontologies in the automobile domain and then to develop a prototype. The process aims at making a social media analysis, identifying feelings and opinions about brands and vehicle parts. The method that guided the development process involves the construction of ontologies and a dictionary of terms that reflect the structure of the vocabulary domain. The proposed process is capable of generating information that answers questions such as: “In the opinion of the customer, which car is better: Corsa or Palio? Which one is more beautiful? Which engine is stronger?” To answer these questions by comparison, one can show a general view reflected on different social networks, indicating, for example, that for a given vehicle, a certain percentage of responses are considered positive, while for others, the percentage is considered negative. The results can be used for various purposes such as guiding decisions to improve the products or directing specific marketing strategies. The process can be generalized and applied to other areas in which organizations are interested in monitoring views expressed about their products and services.1