Overview

This two-day tutorial provides you with the background necessary to run linguistic experiments using the WebExp2 software (henceforth WE2). This software allows you to run experiments over the web or locally. Default templates for standard linguistic experimental paradigms are available (e.g. sentence completion, free written production, acceptability surveys, any kind of magnitude estimation, etc.). The tutorial also explains how to obtain and analyze the results of magnitude estimation experiments on acceptability.

What WE2 can and cannot do

WE2 has been designed to allow a certain amount of flexibility in the design of your experiments, but WE2 can, of course, not match the features of professional programs such as e.g. E-Prime (neither was it ever intended to do so). Like PsyScope and Linger, WE2 is free. Unlike most other available software packages, WE2 enables you to conduct experiments over the web. The timing of events (or dependent variables, such as reaction times) in WE2 is reasobly accurate but (of course) it cannot really be used reliably to get at effects below the 100 msec range. Before you invest time into learning how to use WE2, check out whether it has the features that you need (have a look at the WebExp2 User Guide).

Learning curve for WE2

WE2 is especially good if you can use one of the existing templates for e.g. the eliciation of acceptability judgments. The learning curve for WE2 shouldn't be steep. While there is currently no drag-n-drop user interface for experimental design, the XML-based language WE2 uses to specify experiments and their results, is easy to learn and not too expansive.