Methodological Aspects of Simultaneous Measurements: Limitations and Possibilities

Abstract

Research on the physiology of stuttering has reached the point where single factor studies, such as investigations of only one dimension of speech production (i.e., air pressure alone or muscle activity alone) are inadequate to fully characterize the disorder. Instead, advances in our understanding of stuttering necessitate a multidimensional research approach. This multidimensional research is designed either to record from different systems of the speech mechanism simultaneously or to record at different physiological levels within a single system (Baer & Alfonso, 1984). Research that cuts across systems might concurrently sample respiratory, laryngeal, and supralaryngeal activity. Research that cuts across several levels within a single system might simultaneously record muscle activity, structure movements, and aerodynamic changes in parallel with the acoustic signal. The problem with this new emphasis on simultaneous measurement is that it puts added strain on the subjects, on the instrumentation needed to collect and process the data, and on the experimenter to discover the method of analysis that will best uncover the dynamic principles underlying fluent and disfluent speech. However, the possibilities may be worth our taking on the problems.