Computerized content analysis of articles from the journal "Bulletin of Finance, Industry, and Trade" for the year 1917: testing the capabilities of the artificial intelligence module in the MAXQDA program.
Daria Sergeevna Voronkova · Историческая информатика · 2025
The subject of the research is the articles of the official printed organ of the Russian Ministry of Finance – the journal "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade" – for the year 1917. Undoubtedly, this year was a turning point in domestic history. In this regard, it is important to use new approaches to uncover the informational potential of this largely unique source, which contains valuable information about the country's economy (including not only those areas highlighted in the journal's title but also, for example, about tax and customs policy, as well as preparations for a number of reforms, including agrarian reforms). Moreover, it is necessary to take into account that during this period the journal was published against the backdrop of the ongoing First World War, and the related issues were also reflected in its pages. Methodologically, the article is based on computerized content analysis. The main focus is on artificial intelligence tools within the specialized software MAXQDA. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the capabilities of the AI Assist module and its latest component, MAXQDA Tailwind, which was in the beta version at the time of the article's publication, have been tested. The author received early access to all product features by invitation from the developers and provided feedback based on the work outcomes. The international virtual conference of MAXQDA users (MAXDAYS 2025), where the functionality of MAXQDA Tailwind will be presented, will take place on March 18-19 of this year. Thus, readers will be able to familiarize themselves with it before its official release. The article proves that artificial intelligence in no way replaces the historian but can assist them in deepening and making the analysis of historical sources more comprehensive.