childes Browsable Database
To browse for materials to play:
Use the left menu to navigate through the childes corpora. Click once on the folder you want to explore, and it will expand to show any available subfolders and transcripts. Once you have found the transcript you want to review, click its filename. Your browser will load the transcript in this space and any associated media below the navigation.
Band-width Issues:
Video playback works best across high-speed connections. Closing other applications can also help. Audio playback is less demanding, but initiation of playback of the daylong HomeBank files is slow in any case.
Browser Issues:
Safari and Internet Explorer will display transcripts, but are not able to display the video linked to transcripts. For proper playback of video, please use Chrome, Firefox, or Opera instead.
Playback Icons:
Next to each transcript name is an icon displaying whether the file has
- linked audio
,
- linked video
, or
- no media
- unlinked
to the media
- or is only a dummy transcript
for playback.
Dummy transcripts are useful, because they allow you to play parts or all of the media directly on the web without having to download the media files into the folder of transcripts. For both the unlinked and the dummy transcripts, you can control media playback by using the slider in the media window at the bottom left.
Controlling playback:
For transcripts that are linked to media, you can control playback in three ways:
- Use the controls that display below the media to play, pause, and rewind/fast forward.
- Use your mouse:
- Play from the selected line until the end of the media: press the ▶ at the end of the line.
- Pause playback: press the ■ at the end of the playing line.
- Use keyboard shortcuts:
- Start playback: while the media is stopped, press s.
- Pause playback: while the media is playing, press s.
- Play the next line: press CTRL + Right arrow.
- Play the previous line: press CTRL + Left arrow.
- Play the selected line only: click the line once, then press p.
Continuous playback:
By default, media playback is continuous. However, some transcripts contain linked utterances separated by long periods of silence or untranscribed audio. To skip these periods and only play the linked utterances, set the "Continuous playback" option to "Off", and then click "Set options".
To run CLAN commands:
CLAN commands may be entered in the text box below Command line: (on left, below the directory listing), and run entirely in the browser. File names can be entered manually, or by pressing the [+] symbol next to the file name. Displayed next to Command line: is your current working directory.
Hiding dependent tiers:
Codes, comments, events, and descriptions of interest to the researcher are often typed below the main tier. If a file contains such dependent tiers, a listing of these tiers will display below the navigation on the left. For legibility, the user has the option of only displaying select tiers. To hide a tier, deselect its checkbox, and then click "Set options".