Written Communication Jul 2012 Open Access

Keystroke Analysis

Veerle M. Baaijen ; David Galbraith University of Southampton ; Kees de Glopper University of Groningen

Abstract

Although keystroke logging promises to provide a valuable tool for writing research, it can often be difficult to relate logs to underlying processes. This article describes the procedures and measures that the authors developed to analyze a sample of 80 keystroke logs, with a view to achieving a better alignment between keystroke-logging measures and underlying cognitive processes. They used these measures to analyze pauses, bursts, and revisions and found that (a) burst lengths vary depending on their initiation type as well as their termination type, suggesting that the classification system used in previous research should be elaborated; (b) mixture models fit pause duration data better than unimodal central tendency statistics; and (c) individuals who pause for longer at sentence boundaries produce shorter but more well-formed bursts. A principal components analysis identified three underlying dimensions in these data: planned text production, within-sentence revision, and revision of global text structure.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2012-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088312451108
Open Access
OA PDF Green
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers revision

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Gao et al. (2026)
    Modeling Writing Processes and Predicting Text Quality in Technical Communication
    Written Communication
  2. Vandermeulen et al. (2023)
    Writing Process Feedback Based on Keystroke Logging and Comparison With Exempla…
    Written Communication
  3. Schneier (2023)
    Modeling Mobile Writing: Applying Sociocognitive Models of Writing to Mobile Contexts
    Written Communication
  4. Conijn et al. (2022)
    A Product- and Process-Oriented Tagset for Revisions in Writing
    Written Communication
  5. Bowen et al. (2020)
    Exploring Revisions in Academic Text: Closing the Gap Between Process and Produ…
    Written Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. Zarrabi et al. (2020)
    EFL Students’ Cognitive Performance during Argumentative Essay Writing: A log-f…
    Computers and Composition
  2. Limpo et al. (2017)
    Written Language Bursts Mediate the Relationship Between Transcription Skills a…
    Written Communication
  3. Leijten et al. (2013)
    Keystroke Logging in Writing Research
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Chenoweth et al. (2003)
    The Inner Voice in Writing
    Written Communication
  2. CHENOWETH et al. (2001)
    Fluency in Writing
    Written Communication
  3. Kaufer et al. (1986)
    Composing Written Sentences
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 13 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 84 View in citation network →

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