Database of the Welsh of Children 3-7 Years of Age Data

 

Ages	Numbers of files	Hours of recording about ½ hour per recording	Numbers of children	Names of the files	Size of files
Three	25	12.5 hour	42	c3001 - c3025	418kb
Four	31	15.5 hour	63	c4001 - c4031	498kb
Five	39	19.5 hour	77	c5001 - c5039	859kb
Five 'a'	44	22 hour	87	c5a001 - c5a044	855kb
Six	48	24 hour	96	c6001 - c6048	1.00mb
Seven	52	26 hour	104	c7001 - c7052	1.14mb
Totals	239	119.5 hour			4.66mb

There are two cohorts: children from three to five, and children from five to seven. The first digit in the names of the files which make up the database gives the age of the children. The file names of the five year olds of the older cohort are distinguished by the letter 'a' after the first digit. The remaining digits number the files within the age group.

The basis of the data is a collection of audio recordings of some half to three quarters of an hour each. A large number of children between three and seven years of age were recorded in schools throughout Wales. 

There are two cohorts: 3-5 and 5-7 years of age. The children were recorded once a year for three years - but losses and additions occurred as children missed a recording session and others came into the original project for the first time. 

The recording sessions were undertaken in the children's schools. A standard play situation was used: a large box full of sand which also contained various toys, a wheel into which sand could be poured to turn it, and containers which could hold sand. There were some exceptional occassions early in the life of the original project which collected the data when other play situations were used (a farm or building set). 

A researcher supervised the recording session in situ. But the aim was to obtain spontaneous interactions between the children, and there was no use of standard elicitation techniques. The investigator only spoke with the children: a) for normal social reasons, b) to engage with shy or quiet children, or to encourage a flagging conversation, and c) to discourage unruly behaviour.