Measuring Lexical Diversity in Texts
The Twofold Length Problem
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4502162 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yves Bestgen (0000-0001-7407-7797, UCLouvain, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 638-671 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language Learning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-8333 • E-ISSN: 1467-9922 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lang.12630 |
| OpenAlex | W4391655440 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 46 |
The impact of text length on the estimation of lexical diversity has captured the attention of the scientific community for more than a century. Numerous indices have been proposed, and many studies have been conducted to evaluate them, but the problem remains. This methodological review provides a critical analysis not only of the most commonly used indices in language learning studies, but also of the length problem itself, as well as of the methodology for evaluating the proposed solutions. Analysis of three data sets of texts produced by English language learners revealed that indices that reduce all texts to the same length using a probabilistic or an algorithmic approach solve the length-dependency problem; however, all these indices failed to address the second problem, which is their sensitivity to the parameter that determines the length to which the texts are reduced. The paper concludes with recommendations for optimizing lexical diversity analysis
Computational linguistics · Dependency (UML) · Diversity (politics) · Lexical Diversity · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Probabilistic logic · Sociology · Vocabulary · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Text Readability and Simplification
Contribution of linguistic complexity to L2 learners’ perception on Chinese text comprehensibility and reading speed
Vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary use in writing
Back to Basics in Measuring Lexical Diversity
Heal-Summ
Predicting lexico-grammatical competence in L2 Spanish writing through multiple lexical diversity measures
Introducing and Evaluating a Measure of Lexical Diversity Across Word Classes
Do Large Language Models Produce Texts With “Human‐Like” Lexical Diversity? Evidence From Four ChatGPT Models
AlphaLexChinese
Text length requirements for stable and genre-sensitive lexical diversity measurement
Lexical Complexity in US Statutes
Lexical Diversity and Language Development
Word Frequency Distributions
Assessing the Validity of Lexical Diversity Indices Using Direct Judgements
The Sources of Four Commonly Reported Cutoff Criteria
Forming inferences about some intraclass correlation coefficients.
Interrater reliability and agreement of subjective judgments.
Cutting the Gordian Knot
MTLD, vocd-D, and HD-D
Investigating minimum text lengths for lexical diversity indices
The Nonconcept of Species Diversity
Toward using confidence intervals to compare correlations.
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Measurement of Diversity
Back to Basics
Vocd
Grounding lexical diversity in human judgments
Predicting lexical proficiency in language learner texts using computational indices
Short texts, best-fitting curves and new measures of lexical diversity
Inter-Coder Agreement for Computational Linguistics
Beyond single-word measures
Effects of text length on lexical diversity measures
Statistical Significance Testing in Second Language Research
Capturing the Diversity in Lexical Diversity
Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix
Intraclass correlations
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |