title: Inferior reliability of VAS scoring compared with International Society of the Knee reporting system for abstract assessment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowledge of how abstracts may be se-lected for medical conferences in an efficient and reliable manner is sparse. To improve abstract selection, the Danish Orthopaedic Society implemented the International Society of the Knee (ISK) quality-of-reporting system and visual analogue scale (VAS) scoring for abstract evaluation at its 2014 Annual Congress. We sought to find out if a simple VAS score was more reliable than a multiple-question system for assessment of over-all abstract quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 214 abstracts were submitted for review. All abstracts were reviewed by 3 reviewers using a VAS score and the ISK score. Of the 214, 71 abstracts were reviewed again 6 months later to estimate intra-rater agreement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VAS and the ISK score were poorly correlated (r = 0.64), and the ISK score demonstrated a better intra- and interrater agreement (p < 0.001). The VAS scores of all abstracts were more widely distributed than the ISK scores, which clustered around values in the 50-70 range. Chronbach's alpha for the ISK score was 0.66 (95% confidence interval: 0.62-0.68).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VAS score has a poorer intra- and interrater agreement than the ISK score, and the two scores do not correlate well. VAS scores were more widely distributed, which is beneficial when selecting a scientific programme, but the score is unreliable. We continue to use the ISK score, although its reliability may still be improved.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  none.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  not relevant.
authors.affiliation: ole0rahbek@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rahbek
authors.forename: Steen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.forename: Jeannette Ø
authors.initials: JØ
authors.lastname: Penny
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kallemose
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Troelsen
mesh_terms: D000043:Abstracting and Indexing / Q000592:standards*; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee; D015588:Observer Variation; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000592:standards*; D010380:Peer Review / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013997:Time Factors; D064232:Visual Analog Scale