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Exploratory and Confirmatory Analyses in Sentence Processing: A Case Study of Number Interference in German
Bruno Nicenboim1, Shravan Vasishth1, Felix Engelmann2
1Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam.
Cognitive Science
|February 8, 2018
Summary
Researchers can improve cognitive science reliability by separating experiments into exploratory and confirmatory stages, conducting adequately powered studies, and using Bayesian data analysis. These methods enhance the robustness of scientific claims and yield more realistic effect estimates.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Psycholinguistics
- Computational Linguistics
Background:
- The replication crisis in cognitive science necessitates more reliable research reporting.
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding number feature interference in psycholinguistics, challenging cue-based retrieval models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and evaluate three methodological changes for more robust and realistic scientific claims in cognitive science.
- To investigate number interference effects in German sentence processing using enhanced methodologies.
Main Methods:
- Implementing a two-stage experimental design (exploratory and confirmatory).
- Conducting adequately powered studies to ensure realistic effect size estimation.
- Employing Bayesian data-analytic methods instead of traditional frequentist approaches.
Main Results:
- The proposed methodological changes yielded suggestive evidence for number interference effects in German.
- The findings are consistent with predictions from cue-based retrieval models of sentence processing.
- Adequately powered studies are crucial for obtaining realistic effect estimates in psycholinguistics.
Conclusions:
- Adopting a staged experimental approach, sufficient statistical power, and Bayesian analysis can enhance the reliability of cognitive science research.
- These methodological improvements provide stronger support for theoretical predictions, such as those concerning number interference in sentence processing.
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