Inter-Rater Reliability Methods in Qualitative Case Study Research

Abstract

The use of inter-rater reliability (IRR) methods may provide an opportunity to improve the transparency and consistency of qualitative case study data analysis in terms of the rigor of how codes and constructs have been developed from the raw data. Few articles on qualitative research methods in the literature conduct IRR assessments or neglect to report them, despite some disclosure of multiple researcher teams and coding reconciliation in the work. The article argues that the in-depth discussion and reconciliation initiated by IRR may enhance the findings and theory that emerges from qualitative case study data analysis, where the main data source is often interview transcripts or field notes. To achieve this, the article provides a missing link in the literature between data gathering and analysis by expanding an existing process model from five to six stages. The article also identifies seven factors that researchers can consider to determine the suitability of IRR to their work and it offers an IRR checklist, thereby providing a contribution to the broader literature on qualitative research methods.