Quantifying variation and estimating the effects of sample size on the frequencies of linguistic variables

Heikki Mannila; Terttu Nevalainen; Helena Raumolin-Brunberg

Quantifying variation and estimating the effects of sample size on the frequencies of linguistic variables

Heikki Mannila, Terttu Nevalainen, Helena Raumolin-Brunberg

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Estimating the frequency of linguistic variables is a fundamental task in the analysis of linguistic data. However, as it is often the case that the amount of material available from different people or text categories may vary, the simplest methods of calculating frequencies are not always appropriate. In this article, we discuss different approaches, including bootstrap methods and a Bayesian approach, and compare the results they yield with those given by some of the simple measures in common use, such as pooling and averaging. We also study the effect of sample size on the accuracy of the estimates.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Research Methods in Language Variation and Change
Editors	Manfred Krug, Julia Schlüter
Number of pages	24
Place of Publication	Cambridge
Publisher	Cambrigde University Press
Publication date	2013
Pages	337-360
ISBN (Print)	9780521181860
Publication status	Published - 2013
MoE publication type	A3 Book chapter

Fields of Science

113 Computer and information sciences
6121 Languages
bootstrap
Bayesian analysis
corpus linguistcs
linguistic variable

Access to Document

http://www.cambridge.org/ar/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/research-methods-linguistics/research-methods-language-variation-and-change

Cite this

Mannila, H., Nevalainen, T., & Raumolin-Brunberg, H. (2013). Quantifying variation and estimating the effects of sample size on the frequencies of linguistic variables. In M. Krug, & J. Schlüter (Eds.), Research Methods in Language Variation and Change (pp. 337-360). Cambrigde University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/ar/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/research-methods-linguistics/research-methods-language-variation-and-change

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Mannila, H, Nevalainen, T & Raumolin-Brunberg, H 2013, Quantifying variation and estimating the effects of sample size on the frequencies of linguistic variables. in M Krug & J Schlüter (eds), Research Methods in Language Variation and Change. Cambrigde University Press, Cambridge, pp. 337-360. <http://www.cambridge.org/ar/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/research-methods-linguistics/research-methods-language-variation-and-change>

Quantifying variation and estimating the effects of sample size on the frequencies of linguistic variables. / Mannila, Heikki; Nevalainen, Terttu; Raumolin-Brunberg, Helena.

Research Methods in Language Variation and Change. ed. / Manfred Krug; Julia Schlüter. Cambridge : Cambrigde University Press, 2013. p. 337-360.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review

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N2 - Estimating the frequency of linguistic variables is a fundamental task in the analysis of linguistic data. However, as it is often the case that the amount of material available from different people or text categories may vary, the simplest methods of calculating frequencies are not always appropriate. In this article, we discuss different approaches, including bootstrap methods and a Bayesian approach, and compare the results they yield with those given by some of the simple measures in common use, such as pooling and averaging. We also study the effect of sample size on the accuracy of the estimates.

AB - Estimating the frequency of linguistic variables is a fundamental task in the analysis of linguistic data. However, as it is often the case that the amount of material available from different people or text categories may vary, the simplest methods of calculating frequencies are not always appropriate. In this article, we discuss different approaches, including bootstrap methods and a Bayesian approach, and compare the results they yield with those given by some of the simple measures in common use, such as pooling and averaging. We also study the effect of sample size on the accuracy of the estimates.

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