Statistics for linguists revisited: the review of some basic statistical tools in linguistic research and data analysis

Authors

  • Ewa Kusz University of Rzeszow, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15584/sar.2020.17.3

Keywords:

statistics, data analysis, quantitative methods, parametric and non-parametric tests

Abstract

The major aim of this paper is to emphasise the importance of implementing statistical tools in the field of linguistic research, as well as to acquaint the reader with the basic statistical methods that can be used while conducting linguistic studies. The article introduces the idea of five steps in data analysis that any researcher of applied linguistics can take in order to carry out relevant studies. The steps include choosing statistical programmes, eliciting data, selecting some visual methods and applying normality tests, as well as choosing applicable parametric or nonparametric tests, all of which requires appropriate planning, designing, analysing and interpreting data. The theoretical part is an interlude to the practical realisation of the above-mentioned five steps, which is based on the part of linguistic research conducted on the students of English Philology. The major purpose of it was to prove (or refute) that there is a positive correlation between participants’ level of musical intelligence and their L2 pronunciation skills. The practical use of statistical methods enables the readers to familiarise themselves with one of the patterns of statistical analysis in the field of applied linguistics.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aiken, Leona S., Stephen G. West, Roger E. Millsap (2008) “Doctoral training in statistics, measurement, and methodology in psychology: Replication and extension of Aiken, West, Sechrest, and Reno’s (1990) survey of PhD programs in North America.” American Psychologist, 63, 32-50. doi:10.037/0003-066X.63.1.32.

Baayen, Harald R. (2008) Analyzing Linguistics Data. A practical introduction to statistics. Cambridge University Press.

Cantos Gómez, P. (2013) Statistical Methods in Language and Linguistic Research. Equinox, Sheffield.

Chambers, John M., William S. Cleveland, Beat Kleiner, Paul A. Tukey (1983) Graphical methods for data analysis. Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA.

Eddington, David (2015) Statistics for linguists: A Step-by-Step Guide for Novices. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Ghasemi, Asghar, Saleh Zahediasl (2012) “Normality tests for statistical analysis: a guide for non-statisticians.” International Journal of Endocrinol Metab. 10(2), 486-489. doi: 10.5812/ijem.3505

Gries, Stefan (2013) Statistics for Linguistics with R. A Practical Introduction. De Gruyter Mouton.

Kolmogorov, Andriej (1933). “Sulla determinazione empirica di una legge di distribuzione.” G. Istituto Italiano degli Attuari 4, 83–91.

Kusz, Ewa (2019) Musical intelligence and its impact on English pronunciation skills in the process of second language acquisition. Frankfurt am Mann, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien: Peter Lang.

Larson-Hall, Jenifer (2010) A Guide to Doing Statistics in Second Language Research Using SPSS. New York: Routledge.

Lazaraton, Anne (2000). “Current trends in research methodology and statistics in applied linguistics.” TESOL Quarterly, 34(1), 175–181. doi: 10.2307/3588103

Lazaraton, Anne (2005) “Quantitative research methods.” [In:] Eli Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 209-224). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum 2005.

Loewen, Shawn, Susan Gass (2009) “The use of statistics in L2 acquisition research”. Language Teaching, 42(2), 181-196. doi:10.1017/S0261444808005624

Loewen, Shawn, Elizabeth Lavolette, Le Anne Spino (2014) “Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers.” TESOL Quarterly 48.2 (June 2014), 360–388.

McKnight, Patrick E., Julius Najab (2010) “Kruskal-Wallis Test.” Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 1. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0524

McHugh, Mary L. (2011) “Multiple comparison analysis testing in ANOVA.” Biochemia Medica, 21(3), 203-209.

Mendes, Mehmet, and Akin Pala (2003) “Type I Error Rate and Power of Three Normality Tests.” Pakistan Journal of Information and Technology 2(2), 135-139.

Olleveant, Nicola A. (1999) “Tukey Multiple Comparison test” Blackwell Science Ltd. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 8, 299-304.

Plonsky, Luke, Susan Gass (2011) “Quantitative research methods, study quality, and outcomes: The case of interaction research.” Language Learning, 61, 325-366. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00640.x

Rasinger, Sebastian M. (2008) Quantitative Research in Linguistics: An Introduction. Research Methods in Linguistics. Bloomsbury.

Shapiro, Samuel S., and Martin, B. Wilk (1965) “An analysis of variance t est for normality (complete samples).” Biometrika 52(3/4), 591-611.

Smirnov, Nikolai (1948) “Table for estimating the goodness of fit of empirical distributions.” Annals of Mathematical Statistics 19(2): 279–281. doi: 10.1214/aoms/1177730256.

Snedecor, George W., William G. Cochran (1989) Statistical Methods, Eighth Edition. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.

Thode, Henry J. (2002) Testing for normality. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Woods, Anthony, Paul Fletcher, Arthur Hughes (1986) Statistics in language studies. Cambridge University Press.

Downloads

Published

2020-12-15

How to Cite

Kusz, E. (2020). Statistics for linguists revisited: the review of some basic statistical tools in linguistic research and data analysis. Studia Anglica Resoviensia, 17, 31–46. https://doi.org/10.15584/sar.2020.17.3

Issue

Section

Articles