Cognitive Analysis of Imprecise Temporal Expressions

Objective

To see how people interpret vague descriptions of time in text. Examples of vague expressions are: "many days", "more than one hour", "about 2 months".

Instructions

All the following questions are fictional.
  • Each question shows a sentence comprising 2 to 3 descriptions of time that can be precise or imprecise.
  • The target descriptions of time to be evaluated will be underlined.
  • There are no right or wrong answers, or trick questions. Please work quickly and do not think too long about the exact meaning of the question.

*** All questions must be answered before submitting the form.

Questions
1. (T016) About the following sentence:
In 2004 a premature baby called Bobby was born, although it was more than 7 days before he could leave hospital. He was christened Bobby Stevens last week.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
2. (T144) About the following sentence:
Tom's car has been off the road since July last year, but was fixed in the last few weeks. It will need to have another MOT check-up in 12 months.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in weeks) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and weeks.
3. (T105) About the following sentence:
Timothy's test grades were very low 10 months ago but they have improved recently.
Which one do you consider the most appropriate option to express the amount of time since when the event associated with the underlined expression occurred?
4. (T039) About the following sentence:
There was a long winter in December, 2010. The town experience months of very cold weather. Spring was welcomed when it came at the end of February.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and months.
5. (T065) About the following sentence:
Thomas spent six months in the HR department and then several months in the Sales department.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and months.
6. (T043) About the following sentence:
Petra flew to Spain in May 2011 and stayed about 12 days.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
7. (T097) About the following sentence:
The cost of living rose suddenly 18 months ago, according to data collected for more than 2 weeks.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
8. (T047) About the following sentence:
The contract was signed in 2012. It lasted about 1 month.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
9. (T060) About the following sentence:
It's my dad's birthday on 26/04/2013. It's been about 15 years since he held a big celebration.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in years) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and years.
10. (T077) About the following sentence:
John Berio won 8 boxing matches in the last 15 years, and will be coming to town to celebrate in less than 15 days.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
11. (T007) About the following sentence:
Anna started her engineering career 6 years ago. It took her less than 8 months to find her first job. Within 1 year she was promoted to supervisor.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and months.
12. (T086) About the following sentence:
On 12th of November a new coin was made, but was discontinued less than 2 years after.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in months) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and months.
13. (T136) About the following sentence:
We used to keep bears at the zoo five years ago. It took many days to do the paperwork alone for their leaving, and 12 weeks of planning beforehand.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.
14. (T026) About the following sentence:
We established our centre at the end of 2003. However, it took more than 8 years to get the permit, and 18 months to build it.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in years) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and years.
15. (T127) About the following sentence:
In 2012 there were many new websites created. The average time taken to create these was about 1 week. It is expected that this figure will double next year.
What do you consider the most appropriate period of time (in days) for the highlighted expression?
Something between and days.