CMMI Hosts Workshop on Inter-Rater Reliability and Cohen’s Kappa to Support Qualitative Research Practice

The Center of Excellence (COE) – Business Innovation and Communication (BIC), under the Center for Management and Marketing Innovation (CMMI), successfully conducted the second session of its Qualitative Research Series titled “The Agreement Factor: Building Research Credibility with Inter-Rater Reliability & Cohen’s Kappa” on 12 May 2026 via Microsoft Teams.

The session featured Ts. Dr. Anusuyah Subbarao from the Faculty of Management (FOM) as the invited speaker, who delivered a practical and engaging sharing on inter-rater reliability and the application of Cohen’s Kappa in qualitative research. She highlighted approaches to improving consistency between independent coders, reducing subjectivity in data analysis, and strengthening the credibility and trustworthiness of research findings.

Participants were also guided on interpreting Cohen’s Kappa values and applying them to ensure more transparent and reliable qualitative research outcomes, making the session highly relevant for postgraduate students and researchers working on qualitative studies.

Coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Lilian Anthonysamy, Chairperson of CMMI, with support from Dr. Yeo Sook Fern, Director of COE–BIC, and Dr. Stany, Co-chair of CMMI, the session reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen research capability and methodological rigor among the MMU research community.