title: Observer variation in field data describing foot shape in dairy cattle.
abstract: A qualitative scoring method was devised to describe foot shape in dairy cattle, which relied solely on visual observations. Four independent trained observers used the method to assess the foot shape of 248 cows located on three farms on two different occasions, and the percentages of agreement and near-agreement for intraobserver and interobserver variation on scores for foot shape were calculated. Score assessment methods were suitable for describing features with a broad variation within one score value; reducing the number of observers did not improve best agreement between separate observations by more than 80 per cent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, University of Liverpool Veterinary Field Station, Leahurst, Neston, South Wirral.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Downham
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Merritt
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Manson
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006724:Hoof and Claw / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation