Luxfield Text Grading and Editing Services
Usage Monitoring
Luxfield Text Grading and Editing Services
Usage Monitoring: KWIC displays
Key-word in Context (KWIC) concordance displays
Where all the word forms in a text have been indexed, it is possible to present a list of all instances of any word form within its context.
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In this display the word 'and' is shown. From the display simple conjunctions (coat and shirt), sequencing conjunctions ('did this' and 'then did that'), the idiomatic 'go and', and the collocative 'and so'. can all be picked out quite quickly.
The configuration of the display is to place each occurrence of the 'key' word (that is the word being checked) in roughly the centre of the display, and to give a few words of the text coming before and after that occurrence. This is usually sufficient for the researcher to be able to decide exactly how that word-form is being used.
The display can be re-arranged in a number of ways - in sequence of occurrence; in sequence of the context to the right; in backwards sequence of the context to the left (not so peculiar as it sounds!). The last two tend to bring together a grouping of occurrences according to usage.
The CADET KWIC concordance offers on-screen or hard copy displays for any word-form in any or all of the above sequencing options. It does not, as yet, offer part-word displays (e.g. displays of all occurrences of words ending '-ing'); or restricted user-defined context displays (e.g. 'any occurrence of any verb, in any tense, followed by the prepositions "on" or "over"')
Authors and editors rarely have the inclination, yet alone the time, to work through a text from beginning to end checking the usage of every occurrence of every word form. To use KWIC displays for this purpose successfully, much depends on the development of effective routines - e.g. having to hand lists of word forms known to throw up problems, and concentrating on these first. Where such lists are small, using the 'find' facility on any word-processor should, of course, be good enough; for larger scale, more thorough checking, however, the use of KWIC displays could be quicker and more effective.