Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)#
How do I annotate data for use with vak?#
There are several ways to annotate data.
When we began developing vak,
we were working with two MATLAB-based GUIs
for annotation.
The first was originally developed
by Evren Tumer in the Brainard lab,
and we are happy to share it upon request
(please send an email to nicholdav at gmail dot com).
The second was developed by Yarden Cohen
and can be found here:
https://github.com/yardencsGitHub/BirdSongBout/tree/master/helpers/GUI.
Additionally, we are adding support for annotation tools
that are commonly used in the bioacoustics and linguistics
communities:
Audacity
and
Praat.
Support for both is a work in progress,
but we would be very happy to collaborate
with anyone using these applications,
since they are widely known and
years of development work have gone into them.
We are well aware that both applications (as great as they are) are less than perfect for researchers working with animal behavior and bioacoustics data. We are developing an open-source application for annotation and analysis, tailored to the needs of this research community. Please feel free to contact the lead developer directly if you would like try out early versions of this application and guide its development with your feedback: nicholdav at gmail dot com.
How do I use a custom annotation format?#
Please see this how-to: How do I use my own vocal annotation format?
How do I use spectrograms that I generate with my own code?#
Please see this how-to: How do I use my own vocal annotation format?.