Data Science in Linguistic Research
As an academic discipline that has ties to multiple fields (e.g., the humanities, STEM, cognitive neuroscience, etc.), linguists from different traditions often employ diverse methods and techniques in the collection/documentation and the analysis of naturalistic data. As a formal linguist, there are times where acceptability judgments (i.e., metacognitive evaluation of stimuli on the part of informants) suffice; however, this is not always the case -- especially when conducting research in naturalistic settings. Open Science initiatives and the portability of equipment and technology (most of which can be housed on a laptop) have revolutionized linguistic research. Below are a sample of the tools that my colleagues, students, and I commonly use in our research.
RStudio
RStudio is an integrated developmental environment for R, which is a programming language for statistical computing and graphics. Due to its high functionality, R has become one of, if not the, most popular programming language for statistical computing in linguistic research. Click here for a basic introduction to R. To download RStudio (Desktop), click here.
RStudio is an integrated developmental environment for R, which is a programming language for statistical computing and graphics. Due to its high functionality, R has become one of, if not the, most popular programming language for statistical computing in linguistic research. Click here for a basic introduction to R. To download RStudio (Desktop), click here.
Python
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Simply put, if you can code using Python, you use many other tools available to linguists. A general introduction to Python can be found here. There are a number of resources and groups of linguists online who regularly use Python.
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Simply put, if you can code using Python, you use many other tools available to linguists. A general introduction to Python can be found here. There are a number of resources and groups of linguists online who regularly use Python.
ELAN
ELAN is computer software which provides tools to manually and semi-automatically annotate and transcribe audio and/or video recordings. It has a tier-based data model, which supports multi-level and multi-participant annotation of data. For information on ELAN (including how to download it), click here. Nick Thieberger at the University of Melbourne has produced the following tutorial video on the basics of ELAN which can be accessed here (but is approximately an hour in length).
ELAN is computer software which provides tools to manually and semi-automatically annotate and transcribe audio and/or video recordings. It has a tier-based data model, which supports multi-level and multi-participant annotation of data. For information on ELAN (including how to download it), click here. Nick Thieberger at the University of Melbourne has produced the following tutorial video on the basics of ELAN which can be accessed here (but is approximately an hour in length).
Praat
Praat is a free computer software package for speech analysis in phonetics. It is most commonly used in speech analysis and studying sounds (among other things). To learn more about Praat and to download it to a Mac click here, and for Windows, click here. The Linguistiklabor at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg has produced a series of a short tutorial videos on the basic functions of Praat, which can be found here.
Praat is a free computer software package for speech analysis in phonetics. It is most commonly used in speech analysis and studying sounds (among other things). To learn more about Praat and to download it to a Mac click here, and for Windows, click here. The Linguistiklabor at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg has produced a series of a short tutorial videos on the basic functions of Praat, which can be found here.
FLEx
Fieldworks Language Explorer (FLEx) is an integrated set of free, open-source software tools designed to manage linguistic and cultural data. FLEx is intended to support linguists in collecting data, developing dictionaries, interlinearlizing text, performing morphological data, and sorting data for publication. It is compatible with other lexicography-based technologies developed by The Summer Institute of Linguistics and is only available currently for Windows and Linux operating systems. FLEx can be downloaded here.
Fieldworks Language Explorer (FLEx) is an integrated set of free, open-source software tools designed to manage linguistic and cultural data. FLEx is intended to support linguists in collecting data, developing dictionaries, interlinearlizing text, performing morphological data, and sorting data for publication. It is compatible with other lexicography-based technologies developed by The Summer Institute of Linguistics and is only available currently for Windows and Linux operating systems. FLEx can be downloaded here.
PsychoPy
PsychoPy is an open source software package written in Python (proof again of why coding is Python is a very useful skill!). It is used often in neuroscience and experimental psychology research. It's especially useful for linguists to design and upload experiments in PsychoPy for research in both traditional laboratory and field settings. To download PsychoPy, click here.
PsychoPy is an open source software package written in Python (proof again of why coding is Python is a very useful skill!). It is used often in neuroscience and experimental psychology research. It's especially useful for linguists to design and upload experiments in PsychoPy for research in both traditional laboratory and field settings. To download PsychoPy, click here.
OpenSesame
OpenSesame is very similar to PsychoPy. It's another open source software package commonly used in psychology and neuroscience research. If you want to learn more about OpenSesame and download its latest version, click here.
OpenSesame is very similar to PsychoPy. It's another open source software package commonly used in psychology and neuroscience research. If you want to learn more about OpenSesame and download its latest version, click here.
