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Testing interobserver and intraobserver agreement of the original and revised Coimbra Methods
Author(s) -
Jorgensen Kelsey C.,
Mallon Laura,
Kranioti Elena F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/oa.2907
Subject(s) - kappa , medicine , cohen's kappa , nuclear medicine , scapula , surgery , statistics , mathematics , geometry
In 2009, the Coimbra Method was created to standardize observations of entheseal changes, which are often studied as markers of vigorous physical activity formed during life. Low percentage agreement rates of interobserver replicability led to a revised version of the Coimbra Method published in 2016. Robust statistical significance should be expected of a standardized method, yet neither published method statistically tested interobserver and intraobserver agreement. This paper tests reliability of both Coimbra Method versions using Cohen's Kappa and percentage of agreement for comparison with the originally published rates. This paper also marks the first test of reliability for the Coimbra Method that is independent of the original authors. Fibrocartilaginous entheses of the humerus, radius and scapula were observed on 82 individuals from Scottish and Cretan collections. Results ranged from high intraobserver agreement (86.9% to 91.8%) to lower interobserver agreement (70.5% to 76.7%) for both methods. Interobserver agreement only slightly improved between the original (71.8%) and revised (75.2%) Coimbra Methods. Results for Kappa ranged from substantial for intraobserver agreement ( k = 0.70) but only moderate for interobserver agreement ( k = 0.57) for both methods. Either 80% or ‘substantial’ kappa agreement is considered the minimum for a standardized method, and these results indicate that interobserver agreement from even the revised Coimbra Method is still too low. Future tests and revisions are recommended to further explore the possibility of the Coimbra Method as a standard.