Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41126753›Full record

ArticleBehavioral sciences & the law

Decoding Disbelief: Using Natural Language Processing's Sentiment Analysis to Assess 24 Years of Unfounded Rape Reports Narratives.

Rachel E Lovell, Lacey Caporale, Jiaxin Du

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Behavioral sciences & the law. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Rachel E LovellCriminology Research Center, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8998-6173
Lacey CaporaleCriminology Research Center, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Jiaxin DuCollege of Computing, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA.

Funding

National Institute of Justice 2018-VA-CX-0002
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rape myths, including the belief that victims frequently lie, contribute to barriers in justice, such as the disproportionate use of the "unfounded" classification-where, following an investigation, it is determined no crime occurred. This study analyzes rape report narratives tied to previously untested sexual assault kits (N = 5638) from a large, urban Midwestern (US) jurisdiction, focusing on differences in narratives deemed unfounded or where officers expressed victim lying/doubt. Using natural language processing's sentiment analysis, we assessed tone (via polarity and subjectivity) and word counts. Results showed that unfounded narratives were shorter and more negatively written than others but did not differ in subjectivity. Victim lied/doubted narratives showed no significant difference in polarity, subjectivity, or length compared to others. These findings highlight how bias can manifest in written narratives, potentially influencing case outcomes. Addressing these biases through improved report writing and limiting the misuse of the unfounded classification is essential to support victims' pathways to justice.

Indexed as

Crime VictimsNarrationNatural Language ProcessingRapeAdultFemaleHumansMalefalse reportmachine learningnatural language processingrape mythsentiment analysissexual assaultunfounded

Identifiers

PMID41126753
PMCPMC12865672

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.