Two Applications of Computers to Second Language Research.

The results of an examination of computer data formatting and data analysis strategies from two diverse second language projects and their implications for establishing standards are outlined in the form of suggested formatting conventions and analysis procedures. The formatting suggestions address the issues of distinguishing line types, avoidance of needless variation and random error in typing, the scope of comments and codes, coding, and sub-units or analytic subdivisions within the text. The analysis strategies focus on data selection, data organization to reveal regularities, and data modification through computer-assisted coding. The importance of selecting formatting conventions that are theoretically flexible, computationally flexible, readable by the human eye, quick to type onto the computer, robust against typing error, and expandable is emphasized, and the establishment of a minimal set of conventions to serve as an international standard and to facilitate collaboration and data exchange across projects, including comparisons with first language acquisition research, is supported. (MSE)