| Thesis Abstract
Phonetic transcription has been used to document infant vocalizations; however, research questions the reliability of this method. Accordingly, a need exists for a research base indicating a developmental age when transcription is reliable. This will allow time and resources to be preserved by utilizing other methods of documentation for younger children. The purpose of this study was to attempt to identify this age. Specifically, for a cohort of 7 infants, longitudinally gathered vocalizations from 7 to 18 months of age were transcribed by 3 coders who were intensively trained in phonetic transcription.
Transcriptions were analyzed using an automated weighted reliability measure. It was hypothesized that transcription would be a reliable method to document vocalizations as infants approach 18 months of life. The results demonstrated increased reliability from 15 to 18 months of age when compared to reliability at younger ages. Clinical implications, study limitations, and future directions will be discussed. |