Erlfang Tsai’s research while affiliated with Pennsylvania State University and other places

The language history questionnaire (LHQ) is an important tool for assessing the linguistic background of bilinguals or second language learners and for generating self-reported proficiency in multiple languages. Previously we developed a generic LHQ based on the most commonly asked questions in published studies (Li, Sepanski & Zhao, 2006). Here we report a new web-based interface (LHQ 2.0) that has more flexibility in functionality, more accuracy in data recording, and more privacy for users and data. LHQ 2.0 achieves flexibility, accuracy, and privacy by using dynamic web-design features for enhanced data collection. It allows investigators to dynamically construct individualized LHQs on the fly and allows participants to complete the LHQ online in multiple languages. Investigators can download and delete the LHQ results and update their user and experiment information on the web. Privacy issues are handled through the online assignment of a unique ID number for each study and password-protected access to data.