Danielle Daidone [dæn.ˈjɛl  deɪ.ˈdoʊn​]

Assistant Professor of Spanish
University of North Carolina Wilmington
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PhD in Second Language Studies and Hispanic Linguistics, Indiana University

LATEST BLOG POSTS

Analyzing free classification results:
​Using an R script to obtain (dis)similarity matrices

To analyze your data with the R script below, you'll need 2 files: 
  • Your Lookup Matrix file, which details which stimulus corresponds to which number on which slide.  How to create this file is explained in the blog post here.  This file should be saved as a tab-separated text file.  The example Lookup Matrix from our Finnish length experiment is available here.
  • Your Coded FC Results file, which codes the results from each participant's free classification PowerPoint task.  How to create this file is explain in the blog post here.  This should also be saved as a tab-separated text file.  Make sure your stimuli are in the same order across contexts, since the R script outputs results in alphabetical order, and the combined contexts results will be inaccurate if the orders are different across contexts.  ​The example Coded FC Results file from our Finnish length experiment is available here.
You'll use this R Markdown file to analyze your results (if you don't have R and RStudio, download those first).  The comments in the script show what you should get if you analyze the example files above.  Don't forget to set your working directory to the file path where your files are located and to change the file names to match your Lookup Matrix and Coded FC Results files.

Coding a free classification task

Once you have results for your free classification task, you'll need to code what stimuli participants grouped together.  We recommend having around 30 participants or more for your eventual analysis.  If you use the format pictured below, you will then be able to use an R script that creates similarity matrices from your data.

ABOUT ME

My research focuses on second language phonology, with a particular emphasis on perception and lexical representations. I also work on input in the foreign language classroom, as well as variation in L1 and L2 Spanish.  When I'm not analyzing speech, you can find me dancing salsa (preferably on 2!) or escaping reality with a good book.
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CONTACT ME
daidoned AT uncw DOT edu

UPDATES

If you're interested in beta testing our future HVPT website, sign up here!  

Our article on using free classification for non-native perception is now available as an open-access article in SSLA:
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Daidone, D., Lidster, R., & Kruger, F. (2023). Free classification as a method for investigating the perception of nonnative sounds. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263123000050