# A novel rater agreement methodology for language transcriptions: evidence from a nonhuman speaker

A novel rater agreement methodology for language transcriptions: evidence from a nonhuman speaker The ability to measure agreement between two independent observers is vital to any observational study. We use a unique situation, the calculation of inter-rater reliability for transcriptions of a parrot’s speech, to present a novel method of dealing with inter-rater reliability which we believe can be applied to situations in which speech from human subjects may be difficult to transcribe. Challenges encountered included (1) a sparse original agreement matrix which yielded an omnibus measure of inter-rater reliability, (2) “lopsided” $$2\times 2$$ 2 × 2 matrices (i.e. subsets) from the overall matrix and (3) categories used by the transcribers which could not be pre-determined. Our novel approach involved calculating reliability on two levels—that of the corpus and that of the above mentioned smaller subsets of data. Specifically, the technique included the “reverse engineering” of categories, the use of a “null” category when one rater observed a behavior and the other did not, and the use of Fisher’s Exact Test to calculate $$r$$ r -equivalent for the smaller paired subset comparisons. We hope this technique will be useful to those working in similar situations where speech may be difficult to transcribe, such as with small children. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Quality & Quantity Springer Journals

# A novel rater agreement methodology for language transcriptions: evidence from a nonhuman speaker

, Volume 48 (4) – Jul 13, 2013
11 pages

/lp/springer_journal/a-novel-rater-agreement-methodology-for-language-transcriptions-dqYzrhu7gh
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Subject
Social Sciences, general; Methodology of the Social Sciences; Social Sciences, general
ISSN
0033-5177
eISSN
1573-7845
D.O.I.
10.1007/s11135-013-9894-5
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

### Abstract

The ability to measure agreement between two independent observers is vital to any observational study. We use a unique situation, the calculation of inter-rater reliability for transcriptions of a parrot’s speech, to present a novel method of dealing with inter-rater reliability which we believe can be applied to situations in which speech from human subjects may be difficult to transcribe. Challenges encountered included (1) a sparse original agreement matrix which yielded an omnibus measure of inter-rater reliability, (2) “lopsided” $$2\times 2$$ 2 × 2 matrices (i.e. subsets) from the overall matrix and (3) categories used by the transcribers which could not be pre-determined. Our novel approach involved calculating reliability on two levels—that of the corpus and that of the above mentioned smaller subsets of data. Specifically, the technique included the “reverse engineering” of categories, the use of a “null” category when one rater observed a behavior and the other did not, and the use of Fisher’s Exact Test to calculate $$r$$ r -equivalent for the smaller paired subset comparisons. We hope this technique will be useful to those working in similar situations where speech may be difficult to transcribe, such as with small children.

### Journal

Quality & QuantitySpringer Journals

Published: Jul 13, 2013

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