Efficient coding of eyewitness narratives: A comparison of syntactic unit and word count procedures

Jason J. Dickinson; Debra A. Poole

doi:10.3758/BF03200826

Efficient coding of eyewitness narratives: A comparison of syntactic unit and word count procedures

Jason J. Dickinson, Debra A. Poole

Psychology

Montclair State University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Researchers rely on two types of coding systems to evaluate eyewitness narratives. Features-of-events checklists offer coding simplicity but are impractical when target events are complex. Units-of-information (UOI) systems score all information reported, regardless of event complexity, but are difficult to implement. To test whether simpler systems would alter conclusions about memory performance, transcripts from children (3-8 years of age) who participated in an eyewitness study, originally coded using a UOI system called syntactic units (SU), were recoded using two word count procedures. Correlations between SU, modified word count, and raw word count values were high, and the proportion of information that was inaccurate was comparable across systems. Considering their high interrater reliability, procedural simplicity, and convergence with SU coding, word count procedures are efficient alternatives to UOI coding.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	537-545
Number of pages	9
Journal	Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers
Volume	32
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200826
State	Published - 2000

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Psychology (miscellaneous)
General Psychology

Access to Document

10.3758/BF03200826

Cite this

@article{bfabce9c2fd34b8fbbb91c2a23b2ffb1,

title = "Efficient coding of eyewitness narratives: A comparison of syntactic unit and word count procedures",

abstract = "Researchers rely on two types of coding systems to evaluate eyewitness narratives. Features-of-events checklists offer coding simplicity but are impractical when target events are complex. Units-of-information (UOI) systems score all information reported, regardless of event complexity, but are difficult to implement. To test whether simpler systems would alter conclusions about memory performance, transcripts from children (3-8 years of age) who participated in an eyewitness study, originally coded using a UOI system called syntactic units (SU), were recoded using two word count procedures. Correlations between SU, modified word count, and raw word count values were high, and the proportion of information that was inaccurate was comparable across systems. Considering their high interrater reliability, procedural simplicity, and convergence with SU coding, word count procedures are efficient alternatives to UOI coding.",

author = "Dickinson, {Jason J.} and Poole, {Debra A.}",

year = "2000",

doi = "10.3758/BF03200826",

language = "English",

volume = "32",

pages = "537--545",

journal = "Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers",

issn = "0743-3808",

publisher = "Springer New York",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Efficient coding of eyewitness narratives

T2 - A comparison of syntactic unit and word count procedures

AU - Dickinson, Jason J.

AU - Poole, Debra A.

PY - 2000

Y1 - 2000

N2 - Researchers rely on two types of coding systems to evaluate eyewitness narratives. Features-of-events checklists offer coding simplicity but are impractical when target events are complex. Units-of-information (UOI) systems score all information reported, regardless of event complexity, but are difficult to implement. To test whether simpler systems would alter conclusions about memory performance, transcripts from children (3-8 years of age) who participated in an eyewitness study, originally coded using a UOI system called syntactic units (SU), were recoded using two word count procedures. Correlations between SU, modified word count, and raw word count values were high, and the proportion of information that was inaccurate was comparable across systems. Considering their high interrater reliability, procedural simplicity, and convergence with SU coding, word count procedures are efficient alternatives to UOI coding.

AB - Researchers rely on two types of coding systems to evaluate eyewitness narratives. Features-of-events checklists offer coding simplicity but are impractical when target events are complex. Units-of-information (UOI) systems score all information reported, regardless of event complexity, but are difficult to implement. To test whether simpler systems would alter conclusions about memory performance, transcripts from children (3-8 years of age) who participated in an eyewitness study, originally coded using a UOI system called syntactic units (SU), were recoded using two word count procedures. Correlations between SU, modified word count, and raw word count values were high, and the proportion of information that was inaccurate was comparable across systems. Considering their high interrater reliability, procedural simplicity, and convergence with SU coding, word count procedures are efficient alternatives to UOI coding.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034331739&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3758/BF03200826

DO - 10.3758/BF03200826

M3 - Article

C2 - 11189854

SN - 0743-3808

VL - 32

SP - 537

EP - 545

JO - Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers

JF - Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers

IS - 4

ER -

Efficient coding of eyewitness narratives: A comparison of syntactic unit and word count procedures

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Cite this