Field and Laboratory Methods

The high degree of subjectivity associated with intuition means that empirical linguists rely rather on observable data of human’s linguistic behaviour in favour of intuition. Field methods, involving collecting naturally-occurring data for use in linguistic analysis, are one possibility of accessing data. Data elicitation methods, such as interviews, roleplays, questionnaires, etc. are other frequently employed methods of data collection. In the end of the day, it is the research question which determines the choice of methods, both field and laboratory methods offering particular strengths, but also limitations.

Resources:

• Three Windows computers (of course, you can also bring your own)
• Recording equipment (e.g. for conducting and recording roleplays)
• Transcription software (Audacity, Praat, F4)
• Online tools and information on transcription and creating surveys
• Screen casting software (Camtasia Studio 8)
• Statistics software (SPSS, R)
• Information on statistics for linguistics
• User guides