Microcomputers as aids in Gottschalk-Gleser rating

Different types of errors during the various steps of Gottschalk-Gleser content analysis of speech samples are discussed. Several attempts have been made in the past to avoid error by using computer programs to categorize verbal material. Although these systems offer the advantage of increasing reliability to a maximum, validity is a problem. More recent approaches, which use artificial intelligence methods of language understanding by computer, show promise. However, these computer systems will have to be further developed before they can perform at the same level as human raters. For this reason, an alternative approach is presented which only relies on computers in a limited way: All steps of Gottschalk-Gleser content analysis are performed with a collection of programs on a small 8-bit microcomputer: transcription, scoring, storage, and computation of scores. The different steps of using this system are described, and it is argued that a significant reduction of error, both random and systematic, can be achieved through this system.