Two radiologists independently classify the same set of 200 mammograms. The chance-corrected agreement between them, measured by Cohen's kappa, is calculated as 0.82. According to the conventional interpretation used in standard texts, this indicates:
- A Poor agreement
- B Moderate agreement
- C Excellent agreement ✓
- D Perfect agreement
Correct answer: C. Excellent agreement
Explanation
Kappa measures agreement between observers after correcting for agreement expected by chance. Standard interpretation places kappa below 0.4 as poor, 0.4 to 0.75 as intermediate to moderate, and above 0.75 as excellent agreement. A kappa of 0.82 therefore reflects excellent inter-observer reliability. Perfect agreement would require a kappa of exactly 1.0, and a kappa near zero would mean the observed agreement is no better than chance alone.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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