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Journal of Child Language Journal of Child Language

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Wordbank: an open repository for developmental vocabulary data*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2016

MICHAEL C. FRANK [Opens in a new window] ,
MIKA BRAGINSKY ,
DANIEL YUROVSKY  and
VIRGINIA A. MARCHMAN [Opens in a new window]
MICHAEL C. FRANK
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
MIKA BRAGINSKY
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
DANIEL YUROVSKY
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
VIRGINIA A. MARCHMAN
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
Corresponding
E-mail address:
mcfrank@stanford.edu
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Abstract

The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are a widely used family of parent-report instruments for easy and inexpensive data-gathering about early language acquisition. CDI data have been used to explore a variety of theoretically important topics, but, with few exceptions, researchers have had to rely on data collected in their own lab. In this paper, we remedy this issue by presenting Wordbank, a structured database of CDI data combined with a browsable web interface. Wordbank archives CDI data across languages and labs, providing a resource for researchers interested in early language, as well as a platform for novel analyses. The site allows interactive exploration of patterns of vocabulary growth at the level of both individual children and particular words. We also introduce wordbankr, a software package for connecting to the database directly. Together, these tools extend the abilities of students and researchers to explore quantitative trends in vocabulary development.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 677 - 694
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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Footnotes

[*]

This work supported by a John Merck Scholars award and NSF BCS-1528526. Thanks to Ranjay Krishna for contributions to the initial development of the site, to Rune Nørgaard Jørgensen for helping port data from CLEX, to all of the contributors listed at <http://wordbank.stanford.edu/contributors> for generously sharing their data, and to the Advisory Board of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, especially Philip Dale and Larry Fenson, for their support.

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