From Keystrokes to Cognitive Processes : Analyzing Morphological Knowledge Using Keystroke Logging

Sammanfattning: The development of keystroke logging programs and their use to study the writing process affords an opportunity to combine keystroke logging together with diagnostic tests to provide further information about the test-taking process beyond the given answers. This exploratory study provides a starting point for the usage of keystroke logging programs when taking diagnostic linguistic tests. Twenty-one Swedish students in upper secondary school took a morphological test in English that assesses morphological knowledge – which recent studies suggest is related to reading and writing development – using the keystroke logging program GenoGraphiX-LOG. Temporal and revision data, as well as GenoGraphiX-LOG’s provided statistical and visualization tools, were used to investigate the cognitive processes of the participants in relation to morphological knowledge. Haye’s model of the writing process and the Morphological Pathways Framework (MPF) was used to ground the analysis in current cognitive theory. The results reveal that higher-level processes such as evaluation and planning can be seen with the help of keystroke logging, as well as the integration of morphological information and spelling. The current analytical and visualization tools provided by GenoGraphiX-LOG require further development to streamline their usage together with diagnostic linguistic tests.