LING 632

Course description

This course covers commonly used techniques for quantitative research on language, including small-scale studies that might be part of field research and common experimental techniques used in the lab or the field. It includes topics such as using Praat, data visualization (in R), conducting basic statistical analyses (in R), using experimental applications (e.g., E-Prime, PsychoPy, Gorilla, etc.), planning how many participants/speakers you need for your study, learning ways in which your data can be affected by what you present to/ask of your participants, dealing with outlier values, and other aspects of planning, analyzing, and presenting your study.

We'll discuss techniques that are common in research on speech perception, speech production, sentence comprehension, sentence production, first and second language acquisition, experimental syntax, discourse processing, and other areas. Because this is a general, introductory course, it will not typically cover techniques that are specific to one of these areas or provide in-depth treatment of any area, although advanced topics are possible, with permission.

Who is this course for?

This is an introductory course, for any graduate student who is conducting research on language. If you are interested in something more advanced, talk to me about the possibility of specialized arrangements.

Next offering:

LING 632 is generally offered once per year. Students are encouraged to take Ling 632 in conjunction with Ling 640Y and/or other courses that rely on quantitative methods. Ling 632 can precede, follow, or be taken concurrently with related courses. Contact me if you have specific questions about related courses.

Associated research and teaching laboratories

Language Analysis and Experimentation Labs (LAE Labs)

Prerequisites

None. That said, the course will be much more valuable if you have ideas that you want to explore using laboratory tools, experiments, or quantitative methods. If you don’t have any ideas yet, meet with your advisor for some suggestions. You do notneed to have taken statistics to take this course.

Requirements it meets

This course counts as a methods course for the Department of Linguistics, and is the default methods course for students pursuing an experimental research program in Linguistics.

Course objectives

Engage in many of the principal methods of quantitative, experimental, and laboratory-based linguistic research, including work with hardware, software, experimental design, and analysis.
Extend your skills in critical and logical thinking by conducting exercises in quantitative research.
Gain understanding of ethical issues and responsible conduct for language research.
Enhance your skills in describing laboratory, experimental, and quantitative methods in oral presentations and written reports.
Acquire hands-on experience in a quantitative research method for one area of language research by implementing a research project in the area, demonstrating relevant techniques/methods, and turning in a description of the your research methods. Note: Your project does not need to be a novel idea for this class. You are encouraged to implement a project that you are developing or have developed in another course, such as LING 640Y. (We'll discuss appropriate vs inappropriate overlap of course work in class; check with me if you have questions before the term begins.)