Readability and Tone of UK Annual Report Data

The dataset supports an existing published research. The data includes the textual analysis variables used. Details of the variables and data collection process is reported in the published article. Abstract below:AbstractIn this study, I examine variations in the textual complexity of annual report narrative disclosures using the Fog Readability Index and Fin-Neg word list Tone Index given year and industry effects. I analyse accounting narrative Readability and Tone based on firm years, associations between the two narrative measures, and industry data. Tests of the relationship between Readability and Tone show that negative narratives have higher Readability scores, supporting the obfuscation hypothesis that bad news tends to be more difficult to read. A year analysis shows that the negative relationship between Readability and Tone increases in significance over time (2006–2011). An industry analysis shows that the observed obfuscation tends to persist in basic materials; consumer services; financial; technology; and utilities industries. This study shows that considering the effect of variations between industry and firm years can inform annual report textual complexity research and associated empirical analyses.

本数据集旨在支持一项已发表的科研工作。数据集包含了文本分析所使用的变量，变量详情及数据收集过程详见已发表文章。摘要如下：本研究旨在探讨年度报告叙事披露的文本复杂度变化，采用Fog可读性指数和Fin-Neg词汇列表的调性指数，并考虑年份和行业的影响。通过对企业年份、两种叙事度量之间的关联以及行业数据的分析，研究会计叙事的可读性和调性。可读性与调性之间的关系测试表明，负面叙事的可读性评分较高，支持了模糊性假说，即坏消息往往更难以阅读。年份分析显示，可读性与调性之间的负相关性随着时间的推移（2006-2011年）而增强。行业分析表明，观察到的模糊性倾向在基础材料、消费者服务、金融、科技和公用事业等行业中持续存在。本研究表明，考虑行业与企业年份之间的变化效应，可丰富年度报告文本复杂度研究及相关实证分析。