Coding Issues in Modality Analysis
Roel Popping, Carl W. Roberts · Field Methods · 2009
Ambiguous phrases are the bane of researchers' attempts to ensure acceptably high interrater agreement in the encoding of texts. When modal usages and their associated rationales are encoded as part of a text analysis, ambiguities arise in characteristic (and thus identifiable) ways. This article illustrates the typical sources of disagreement among coders involved in encoding data during a modality analysis and provides concrete strategies for improving interrater agreement.