CHILDES Paper Rubric
Student Name________________________
A B
Introduction Clearly introduce the research
question; question is appropriate
scope
Contains clear, cogent but brief
presentation of key issues
Provides an explicit hypothesis
(expectation based on
independent information; i.e.
frequency effects)
Methods Design and extraction/collection
criteria directly address the
research question & hypothesis
and are very explicit
Clearly indicates how much
data was extracted/collected
and documents source of data
Clear description of coding
criteria, linked to research
question
Replicable
Results Illustrates with actual child
examples both main patterns
and atypical patterns
Substantial depth of linguistic
analysis
Robust dataset
Good ability to summarize data
quantitatively
Discussion Clearly establish links from
background/hypotheses to
results
Highlights main finding
Shows insight on the topic
Format & Follows IMRD structure
Presentation Flawless writing
Appropriate use of referencing
style
Appropriate length
General Excellence; goes beyond class
Impression content
Mark______________
C
A question is not as
appropriate to topic; not
explicit
Provides some topic-
relevant, background
Provides a somewhat vague
and/or only partially
motivated hypothesis
Some details on design and
data extraction/collection,
but not explicit enough
Introduces the coding
system, but less clear
Coding not fully connected
to the question
Replicable but with efforts
to fill gaps
Illustrates with actual
examples either main
patterns or atypical patterns
Some linguistic analysis
Data sample is appropriate
Some ability to provide a
quantitative data summary,
minor errors
Follows the results or the
hypothesis
Shows main finding
Answers the question
Makes some errors with
IMRD classification
Good writing
Cites work
Appropriate length
A good paper
accomplishing
requirements
Statement of research question
is vague, muddled, or
inappropriate in scope
Presentation of background
unclear, insufficient, absent or
off-topic
Hypothesis is unclear,
irrelevant, or unmotivated
Design is limited or
problematic; Limited details on
data extraction
Vague or insufficient
description of how data was
coded; Coding inaccuracies
Sampled data without explicitly
linking choices to research
question
Not replicable
Does not show actual child
examples, or does not show
relevant examples
No clear demonstration of what
the data is
Data sample is lacking
Presents the data
quantitatively, but incorrectly
Not clearly linked to results/no
main finding
Strays from topic
Does not clearly answer the
question
Make several errors with IMRD
structure
Writing needs improvement
No understanding of attribution
Over/under length limit
Completed, but problematic
(effort lacking, comprehension
lacking, etc.)