Xin Chen, Nurul Aini Mohd Jelani, Stephen Skalicky, & Paul Warren (LALS, VUW)
Collecting behavioural data online: Challenges, triumphs, and suggestions (or) The good, the bad, and the ugly
Language researchers who investigate language processing, representation, and production rely heavily on behavioural data to test research hypotheses. This normally involves presenting a research participant with some sort of linguistic stimuli and then measuring the speed and/or accuracy of the participant’s response. The cognitive processes associated with these decisions occur very rapidly, requiring precise timing down to the millisecond. It may thus come as a surprise to hear that this sort of data can now be collected from participants over the internet, rather than in a lab. This seminar will trace the history and status of these methods and then share how four members of LALS have used this type of data in their research, theses, and teaching. The speakers will detail the benefits and drawbacks of these approaches and provide suggestions for how future researchers can best explore this new frontier of data collection.