LEL2B: Empirical Methods
MapTask Project on "How people refer to objects in the world"

Welcome!

The EM project this year invites you to analyse data from the MapTask corpus, a dataset created here in Edinburgh that was collected by asking participants to play a map game. The resulting transcribed dialogues provide a rich dataset for the analysis of patterns of language use in (controlled) social contexts. Full details of the corpus are http://groups.inf.ed.ac.uk/maptask/index.html. Below you will find information about the corpus and links to the dialogue files you will be working with.

For now, just read over this material. During week 8 you will see how to do a sample annotation in that week's course materials on Learn, and you will be working with your own files with your tutorial group in the next couple weeks.

What you need to know about the MapTask

The MapTask dialogues are unscripted (hence, natural conversation) while structurally similar (hence, easier to compare with each other). Each dialogue consists of a conversation between a pair of participants, each with a map in front of them. The participant in the "guide" role has a path indicated on their map, and they are trying to convey to the "follower" how to replicate that path on their map. They cannot see each other's maps and the maps are slightly different. See the sample pair of guide/follower maps at the bottom of this page.

Here is a sample dialogue between two participants working with the maps below:

Your task

For LEL2B, your task is to annotate the utterances in the dialogues in order to permit an analysis of the referring expressions speakers use. You'll eventually combine your annotations with those of the other groups. You will then conduct further analyses on the entire dataset for your final research report.

Deadlines

Individual annotations due by noon on Friday 15 November: Files will be assigned in Week 8. When completed, submit to your tutor.

Individual final reports (Assessment #3) due noon on Thursday 5 December: Assignment specifications to be released by the end of Week 8. When completed, submit on Learn through TurnItIn.

Properties of each dialogue file

The utterances vary in a few ways, and these properties are indicated in the files themselves:

• Speaker: whether the guide or follower is producing the utterance
• Contact: whether or not the session permitted the guide & follower to make eye contact
• Familiarity: whether the guide & follower knew each other ahead of time

Sample pair of maps

Find your dialogue files

Information coming soon about which datafiles each tutorial will be working with (data to be released Wednesday 8 November). For now, check out the sample annotated file below. The annotation instructions from class are here.

Follow the links below to see the files available for your tutorial. Tutorial groups vary in size, so there is information about the lengths of the different dialogues, which will help in ensuring that the task is shared equally across students. Your tutorial group doesn't need to finish all the files assigned to it, but the more data the better.

Compiled data from across tutorial groups