S
saccade n
see fixation pause
salience n salient adj
also perceptual salience
(in language leaming, speech perception, and information processing)
the ease with which a linguistic item is perceived. In language learning, the
salience of linguistic items has been studied to see if it affects the order in
which the items are learned. For example, the salience of a spoken word
may depend on:
athe position of a phoneme in the word
bthe emphasis given to the word in speech, i.e. whether it is stressed or
unstressed
c the position of the word in a sentence.
see also natural order hypothesis
sample n
(in statistics and testing) any group of individuals that is selected to repre-
sent a population. A sample in which every member of the population has
an equal and independent chance of being selected is known as a random
sample. A sample in which the population is grouped into several strata
(e.g. of high, medium, and low scores), and a selection drawn from each
level, is known as a stratified sample. A sample which contains a good
representation of the population from which it is drawn is known as a
representative sample.
A sample that is deliberately chosen without using randomizing techniques
is known as a prospective sample. A sample which is chosen solely from
subjects who are conveniently available is called a convenience sample.
sampling n
the procedure of selecting a sample. This selection can be done in various
ways, e.g. by selecting a random sample or a stratified sample.
sampling error n
in testing and research, the difference between the data obtained on a
specific sample selected for a test or an experimental study and the data
that would have been obtained if the entire population had been tested or
studied.