Kappa statistic evaluation in SPSS

SPSS syntax available:

• [:FAQ/kappa/kappans:Non-square tables where one rater does not give all possible ratings]
• [:FAQ/kappa/multiple:More than 2 raters]
• [:FAQ/ad:An inter-rater measure based on Euclidean distances]

Note: Reliability as defined by correlation coefficients (such as Kappa) requires variation in the scores to acheive a determinate result. If you have a program which produces a determinate result when the scores of one of the coders is constant, the bug is in that program, not in SPSS. Each rater must give at least two ratings.

• [:FAQ/kappa/magnitude:Benchmarks for suggesting what makes a high kappa]

There is also a weighted kappa which allows different weights to be attached to misclassifications. Warrens (2011) shows that weighted kappa is an example of a more general test of randomness.

Reference

Warrens MJ (2011). Chance-corrected measures for 2 × 2 tables that coincide with weighted kappa. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology 64(2) 355–365.