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For larger coding systems, the number of available keyboard keys (approx. 60) is often the first limit you run into. But also in case of smaller systems, the use of lexical chained Code definitions, often offers unexpected possibilities!

Lexical chains are important for anyone with:

oA huge amount of Codes, that exceed the number of available characters on the keyboard

oHierarchical Codes, for which the chosen Code determines the choice of possible Codes on the next sub-level

oHierarchical Codes, that influence the Class name of any sub-ordinated Codes

The Lexical Coding Mode as well as the Complex Coding Mode, includes the possibility of building Lexical-chains. This means, that you can 'link' different sets of Code definitions to build a hierarchical system.

With Lexical Chains, you can:

oRe-use the same [key] for different Observation Codes, during one coding session!

oRe-use the same Codes for different situations (e.g. left, right, up, down for different body parts)

oLimit the number of Codes to choose from

oBuild context based Classes on the fly

oUse an unlimited number of Observation Codes!

Note: A chain of different Code definitions sets, enables you to re-use keyboard shortcuts for different Codes, within one logging session! The 'meaning' of a [key], depends on the 'context' it is used in. This 'context' is set by the previous Code.

This example, explains the principle of chaining Code definition files.

Example: Presume, that you are observing a social interaction of three people.
You want to log the duration someone is talking and the emotional state of this person.
A choice of possible emotions is: [a]ngry, [c]onfused, [e]xited, [h]appy, [n]ervous and [s]ad.
Our observations are collected in three Classes: 'Person A', 'Person€ B' and 'Person C'.

Without the possibilities of Lexical-chains, you need to define all possible combinations of emotions and test persons in your Code definitions. This results in 18 different Codes, even for our rather simple simple example situation. On top of that, we are unable to use identical keys ([a], [c], [e], [h], [n] and [s]) for describing the emotion of all 3 test persons.

Solution

•Split your Codes into two separate Code definition files.

•Enter all persons into one Code definitions file.

•Enter all emotions into a second Code definitions file.

•Use the Column Lex.Chain to link the Emotions to the Persons

How to create such a hierarchical coding system is described in Define Codes - Lexical Chains.