Evaluation of the coherence of computer-aided conversations
Portia E. File, John Todman · Augmentative and Alternative Communication · 2002
A key issue for communication aid designers is whether user-constructed, prestored phrases can facilitate good quality conversations as well as higher conversational rates. In the present study, the coherence of conversations produced with user-stored speech was examined at the level of speech acts. Lag sequential analysis was conducted to identify consistent patterns in sequences of speech acts (e.g., question followed by answer) within three different sets of conversations. Thirty-one distinct sequences were identified, many involving three or more speech acts and both partners. Identified speech act patterns were similar to those found in unaided conversations. One difference, however, was that questions featured more in aided than in unaided conversation sequences, perhaps because questions in aided conversations effectively promoted turn-taking and control sharing by the person using the aid.