AphasiaBank: Methods for studying discourse

Abstract

Background: AphasiaBank is a computerised database of interviews between persons with aphasia (PWAs) and clinicians. By February 2011 the database had grown to include 145 PWAs and 126 controls from 12 sites across the United States. The data and related analysis programs are available free over the web.

Aims: The overall goal of AphasiaBank is the construction of a system for accumulating and sharing data on language usage by PWAs. To achieve this goal we have developed a standard elicitation protocol, and systematic automatic and manual methods for transcription, coding, and analysis.

Methods & Procedures: We present sample analyses of transcripts from the retelling of the Cinderella story. These analyses illustrate the application of our methods for the study of phonological, lexical, semantic, morphological, syntactic, temporal, prosodic, gestural, and discourse features.

Outcomes & Results: AphasiaBank will allow researchers access to a large, shared database that can facilitate hypothesis testing and increase methodological replicability, precision, and transparency.

Conclusions: AphasiaBank will provide researchers with an important new tool in the study of aphasia.

This project is funded by NIH_NIDCD grant R01-DC008524 (2007-2012).

Keywords:

• Aphasia classification
• Transcript analysis
• Corpus analysis
• Elicitation protocols
• Gesture analysis
• Databases

Notes

This project is funded by NIH_NIDCD grant R01-DC008524 (2007-2012).

¹Our thanks to Dan Kempler (Emerson College), Cynthia Thompson (Northwestern University), and Susan Jackson (University of Kansas) for contributing AphasiaBank protocols from their participants. We also thank Heather Wright (Arizona State University), Darlene Williamson (Stroke Comeback Center), Gretchen Szabo (Adler Aphasia Center), Roberta Elman (Aphasia Center of California), Denise McCall (SCALE), and Maura Silverman (TAP) for helping us administer the AphasiaBank protocol to the participants at their respective institutions.

²Thanks to Heather Wright, Gilson Capilouto (University of Kentucky), and Dan Kempler for their contributions of protocols for control participants.