Phrase Detectives - The AnaWiki annotation game

Welcome to Phrase Detectives

Lovers of language, rammar and literature, this is the place where you can work with us to improve our understanding of how language works and develop future language technology. You can help us to create a resource that is rich in linguistic information by telling us how you interpret certain phrases. Simply register a username and password and you can get started.
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563 docs completed

The most recent was The Tragedy Of The White Tanks (Charles B. Cory) completed by Wellington on 13 Jun 2018
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Quick instructions

You will be asked your opinion of phrases in texts (both fiction and non-fiction).

1) NAME THE CULPRIT
In this task you will be shown a text with a phrase highlighted in orange, and you will be asked if this phrase refers to an entity (person, or other object) that has already been mentioned in the text. For example, you might see:

Sherlink Holmes went to the shop. He got some tobacco for his pipe.

In this example, the phrase in orange, He, refers to the same person as the phrase "Sherlink Holmes" in the previous sentence. In such cases, you should click on the earlier phrase and then on the 'Done' button.

Note however that not all phrases refer to a previously mentioned entity. In the text above, for instance, the phrases "some tobacco" and "his pipe" in the second sentence refers to objects not mentioned in the previous sentence. If you get a text where the phrase highlighted in orange refers to an entity not mentioned before, you should click on the 'Not mentioned before' button.

2) DETECTIVES CONFERENCE
In this task, you will be asked whether you agree with another detective's decision. An example of this might be:

Sherlink Holmes went to the shop. It was closed.

If you think that the word in orange, It, refers to the same object as the phrase in blue, the shop, you should say that you agree with this decision.
Further instructions

WIN PRIZES EVERY DAY

Every day, from the 01 to 14 July 2018 we will draw 2 player decisions at random and they will receive a £20 Amazon voucher (if they are the correct answer).

The more you play, the higher your chance of winning!

To enter simply play the game and start scoring points. Winners will be contacted by email so if you want to win please add your email on your Profile page.
Full details are in the FAQ.
Good luck! Play now

Detective's Bulletin

27 June 18

After a long and successful run on Facebook the Phrase Detectives game will be returning to the original game platform here.

13 Jan 14

A Facebook group has been set up to discuss some of the more interesting cases of ambiguity found in the Phrase Detectives game. Join the group Do You Know Your Anaphor From Your Elbow?" (Facebook account required).

19 Apr 12

Analysis of player motivations will be presented at Collective Intelligence 2012 conference in Boston, MA. It seems the female players are coming out top!

22 Feb 11

The long-awaited Phrase Detectives Facebook game has gone live.
Play the game.

01 Nov 10

Here are a few game stats for you number junkies. We have over 1.5 million examples of human language in the database submitted by 3500 players, a collaborative effort of over 2700 hours or 112 days. On average players are quicker to disagree with other players than to agree. Exported data from the game shows that the combined answers of players gives a very high quality result. A huge thank you to all detectives.

02 Aug 09

Phrase Detectives was presented at WWW in Madrid, WebSci in Athens and ACL in Singapore.

28 Jan 09

Phrase Detectives' Jon Chamberlain is interviewed by BBC Radio.

26 Jan 09

Articles about the game appear in Innovations Report, Science Daily, PhysOrg and L'Atelier.

01 Dec 08

A good article about the game is on CS4FN website.

28 Oct 08

Read coglanglab's excellent article about Phrase Detectives.

19 Sept 08

Phrase Detectives was presented at STEP 08 in Italy and iSemantics in Austria.