An analysis of data collection tasks used in studies on scope ambiguity in English involving universal quantifiers and negation

Abstract

This study examines types and characteristics of data collection tasks used in studies on scope ambiguity in English involving a universally quantified noun phrase and negation, and investigates any differences in comprehension patterns across studies using different tasks. Since Musolino’s seminal 1998 study using a truth value judgment task, several other studies on English scope ambiguity have used the same task type or variations on it, while others have tested different tasks. Through a keyword search of relevant databases, the present study found a total of 13 studies dealing with the topic of universal quantification and negation in English published since 1998. Based on tasks’ key characteristics and how they were conducted, seven different basic task types were identified. A comparison of the results of the studies found a difference in the overall comprehension patterns of English native speakers for sentences containing a universally quantified noun phrase in subject position between the truth value judgment task with one type of context story and the other tasks. The results are discussed in terms of their methodological implications, and some suggestions for further research from methodological perspectives are provided.