Language Research Centre: Facilities

We host a wide variety of research equipment within the Centre. One of the most prominent is our eye-tracking facilities. The range of eye tracking resources available through the centre is unrivalled within a single department or centre in the UK. We currently make use of several eye trackers dedicated to language research (EyeLink 2000, EyeLink 1000, EyeLink II, Dr Bouis, Fourward Dual-Purkinje-Image (recently retired)), each specialised for use in differing types of applications. (The School also have 2 further eye trackers for vision research - see Centre for Oculomotor Research website). These allow for optimal choice of device across a variety of studies, covering the range from precise, high resolution, millisecond-accurate laboratory-based tracking of eye positions during reading to the recording of eye movement behaviour in more naturalistic linguistic or communicative environments or with special populations (patients, children).

We also house several other research laboratories with a variety of technologies. The Speech & Gesture Production Lab has both equipment for conducting voice key experiments as well as video equipment for recording gesture behavior. The Parkinson's Research Lab has special access available for patients with limited mobility. The Auditory Lab is specialised for sound synthethisis and analysis, with purpose designed recording, editing, and engineering hardware and software. The Language and Metacognition Lab , the Language & Learning Lab , and a selection of Reaction Time Labs are also in place, suitable for conducting experiments in a variety of paradigms and with a variety of participant populations. Each of these labs employ the very latest experimental techniques in their individual areas.

The majority of our computing facilities run Windows 7, but we also have Apple computers and some Unix servers. To run our experiments, we have licenses for a variety of presentation software packages including E-prime, DMDX, Matlab, and Psyscope. For statistical analysis, all computers are equiped with the latest SPSS updates.

It is one of our strengths that we have long-established links with local community groups and organisations connected to the specific populations involved in our research (e.g., local Primary and Secondary schools, Dyslexia Action, the Parkinson’s Disease Society, etc).