Assessing the Inter-rater Agreement of the Level of Service Inventory Revised

• NCJ Number: 208961
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 68 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2004 Pages: 34-38
• Author(s): Christopher T. Lowenkamp Ph.D.; Alexander M. Holsinger Ph.D.; Lori Brusman-Lovins MSW; Edward J. Latessa Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2004
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated the inter-rater reliability of the Level of Service Inventory Revised (LSI-R)

Abstract

Interview-based dynamic risk assessments require reliability in scoring in order to be effective and useful. The individual subjectivity of the interviewer is often brought up as a possible problem in gaining scoring reliability. The current research focuses on the LSI-R, which assesses 10 criminogenic domains to evaluate the level of risk of the offender. Inter-rater reliability is crucial with the LSI-R because of the importance of the decisions based on the findings of the LSI-R. While the validity of the LSI-R has been demonstrated through previous research, more study is needed on the reliability of the LSI-R scores across different raters. Participants of the current study were 167 correctional practitioners who were involved in a 3-day required training course on the intent and scoring of the LSI-R. Following training, participants scored an LSI-R based on a vignette describing an offender. The scores from the LSI-R were analyzed, revealing high levels of agreement across all items of the scale. Overall average agreement rates for all 10 subsections of the scale ranged from acceptable to very high. Future research on the inter-rater reliability of the LSI-R should allow participants to gather their own information from the same source before scoring the LSI-R. Tables, references