MetaLab_BCCCD.pdf (3.28 MB)
MetaLab: Power Analysis and Experimental Planning in Developmental Research Made Easy
poster
posted on 2016-01-18, 10:08 authored by Christina BergmannChristina Bergmann, Molly LewisMolly Lewis, Michael FrankMichael FrankMetaLab: Power Analysis and Experimental Planning in Developmental Research Made Easy
Christina Bergmann 1, Sho Tsuji 1, Molly Lewis 2, Mika Braginsky 2, Page Piccinini 1, Alejandrina Cristia 1, Michael C. Frank 2
1 Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University; 2Department of Psychology, Language and Cognition Lab, Stanford University
MetaLab (metalab.stanford.edu) is a web-based tool that aggregates meta-analyses across different domains in language acquisition. MetaLab can be used for power analysis, experimental planning, and theory development. Currently, MetaLab includes 575 effect sizes and data from 11,627 children from 165 papers on 5 topics (phoneme discrimination, word segmentation, infant directed speech, pointing and language development, and mutual exclusivity). MetaLab is completely open and encourages contributions from researchers to expand and stay up to date.
Reproducible research requires experimental designs with appropriate statistical power. But with unknown effect sizes, sample sizes are difficult to determine prospectively. In developmental research, research is typically underpowered due to both low sample and low effect sizes (a typical word segmentation study has n=24 and Cohen’s d=.2). MetaLab allows researchers to estimate effect sizes and to select experimental design parameters that increase their likelihood of success. Critically, researchers can customize queries to the particular phenomenon, age, and method of planned studies.
Better effect size estimates are also important for theoretical progress. Existing meta-analyses reveal developmental trends within individual phenomena, but comparing these trends across phenomena is more difficult because of the wider range of tasks and ages. MetaLab provides a synthesis across different meta-analyses: a visualization of the relationship between the developmental trajectories of different phenomena in language development. This analysis provides an empirical analogue to classic “ages and stages” charts that show how different abilities overlap in developmental time, and highlights the interactive nature of language learning.
Christina Bergmann 1, Sho Tsuji 1, Molly Lewis 2, Mika Braginsky 2, Page Piccinini 1, Alejandrina Cristia 1, Michael C. Frank 2
1 Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University; 2Department of Psychology, Language and Cognition Lab, Stanford University
MetaLab (metalab.stanford.edu) is a web-based tool that aggregates meta-analyses across different domains in language acquisition. MetaLab can be used for power analysis, experimental planning, and theory development. Currently, MetaLab includes 575 effect sizes and data from 11,627 children from 165 papers on 5 topics (phoneme discrimination, word segmentation, infant directed speech, pointing and language development, and mutual exclusivity). MetaLab is completely open and encourages contributions from researchers to expand and stay up to date.
Reproducible research requires experimental designs with appropriate statistical power. But with unknown effect sizes, sample sizes are difficult to determine prospectively. In developmental research, research is typically underpowered due to both low sample and low effect sizes (a typical word segmentation study has n=24 and Cohen’s d=.2). MetaLab allows researchers to estimate effect sizes and to select experimental design parameters that increase their likelihood of success. Critically, researchers can customize queries to the particular phenomenon, age, and method of planned studies.
Better effect size estimates are also important for theoretical progress. Existing meta-analyses reveal developmental trends within individual phenomena, but comparing these trends across phenomena is more difficult because of the wider range of tasks and ages. MetaLab provides a synthesis across different meta-analyses: a visualization of the relationship between the developmental trajectories of different phenomena in language development. This analysis provides an empirical analogue to classic “ages and stages” charts that show how different abilities overlap in developmental time, and highlights the interactive nature of language learning.
