What is a good inter-rater reliability score?

A good inter-rater reliability score depends on the statistic used and the context of the study.

For Cohen’s kappa (two raters), common guidelines are:

  • < 0.20: Poor agreement
  • 0.21–0.40: Fair agreement
  • 0.41–0.60: Moderate agreement
  • 0.61–0.80: Substantial agreement
  • 0.81–1.00: Almost perfect agreement

For the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (interval or ratio data), similar thresholds are used:

  • < 0.50: Poor agreement
  • 0.51–0.75: Moderate agreement
  • 0.76–0.90: Good agreement
  • > 0.91: Excellent agreement

Related article: What Is Reliability? | Definition, Types & Examples

Reliability in research refers to how consistently a research method measures something. If you use the same method on the same group under the same conditions, you should get similar results each time. If the results vary significantly, the measurement may be unreliable or affected by bias or random error. Researchers use reliability to evaluate […]

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