Reliability testing the appraisal framework for analysing encouraged suicide data
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores the suitability and replicability of the appraisal framework in the forensic context of analysing encouraged suicide communications. Owing to critiques of its subjectivity as an analytical method, appraisal may be met with similar hesitation if used to present linguistic evidence in forensic analyses. While Calloway (2023) demonstrates how appraisal may be used to elicit a persuasion response in the context of encouraging suicide, this paper suggests that appraisal is not reliable enough as a tool to categorise how influential language manifests. Using 10 independent coders, appraisal analysis returns an unsatisfactory inter-rater reliability score in classifying encouraged suicide data (K-Alpha 0.29). Furthermore, the criteria of the appraisal framework are not specific to the identification of the presence or absence of encouragement, thereby indicating the need for an alternative framework for this task.
Author: Lily Calloway
Institution: Aston University
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,000
OpenAlex ID: W7155558814