Methodological Rigour in Algorithm Application: An Illustration of Topic Modelling Algorithm

The rise of advanced computational algorithms has opened new avenues for computationally intensive research approaches to theory development. However, the opacity of these algorithms and lack of transparency and rigour in their application pose methodological challenges, potentially undermining trust in research. The discourse on methodological rigour in this new genre of research is still emerging. Against this backdrop, I attempt to offer guidance on methodological rigour, particularly in the context of topic modelling algorithms. By illustrating the application of the structural topic modelling algorithm and proposing a set of guiding principles, I discuss how to ensure rigour in topic modelling studies. Although the principles are derived based on topic modelling algorithms, they can be applied to other algorithms with context-specific adjustments. The principles are helpful for novice researchers applying topic modelling, and editors and reviewers handling topic modelling manuscripts. I contribute to the literature on topic modelling and join the emerging dialogue on methodological rigour in computationally intensive theory construction research.