childes-db: A flexible and reproducible interface to the child language data exchange system

Abstract The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) has played a critical role in research on child language development, particularly in characterizing the early language learning environment. Access to these data can be both complex for novices and difficult to automate for a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sanchez, Alessandro, Meylan, Stephan C, Braginsky, Mika, MacDonald, Kyle E, Yurovsky, Daniel, Frank, Michael C
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer US 2021
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131922
Description
Summary:Abstract The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) has played a critical role in research on child language development, particularly in characterizing the early language learning environment. Access to these data can be both complex for novices and difficult to automate for advanced users, however. To address these issues, we introduce childes-db, a database-formatted mirror of CHILDES that improves data accessibility and usability by offering novel interfaces, including browsable web applications and an R application programming interface (API). Along with versioned infrastructure that facilitates reproducibility of past analyses, these interfaces lower barriers to analyzing naturalistic parent–child language, allowing for a wider range of researchers in language and cognitive development to easily leverage CHILDES in their work.