Lack of consensus among sentiment analysis tools: A suitability study for SME firms

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a large and integral part of the UK’s economy, with over 99% of all Britain’s businesses classified as small or medium. Supporting the needs of SMEs across the UK has become crucial, while the demands for software tools placed by such businesses keep growing. We are particularly interested in the case of tools for sentiment analysis, because such tools have emerged lately as a good prospect for SMEs to turn data into opportunities. We have compared five of the most well-regarded sentiment analysis tools, and have concluded that none of them is sufficiently reliable to work on its own. Combining them and relying on their results only when various tools reach an agreement seems to be a better option. The pros and cons of such an approach are discussed here, while providing recommendations related to the usability of the tools in question.