Szojka, Z. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4126-1261, Yashraj, S. and Lyon, T. D. (2025) Automated question type coding of forensic interviews and trial testimony in child sexual abuse cases. Law and Human Behavior, 49 (2). pp. 163-172. ISSN 0147-7307 (Print), 1573-661X (Online)

PDF (Author's Accepted Manuscript) 50721 SZOJKA_Automated_Question_Type_Coding_Of_Forensic_Interviews_And_Trial_Testimony_In_Child_Sexual_Abuse_Cases_(AAM)_2025.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 20 March 2026. Download (694kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Objectives: Question type classification is widely used as a measure of interview quality. However, question type coding is a time-consuming process when performed by manual coders. Reliable automated question type coding approaches would facilitate the assessment of the quality of forensic interviews and court testimony involving victims of child abuse.
Method: We examined whether a large language model (RoBERTa) trained on questions (N = 351,920) asked in forensic interviews (n = 1,435) and trial testimony (n = 416) involving 3- to 17-year-old alleged victims of child sexual abuse could distinguish among 1) invitations, 2) wh- questions, 3) option-posing questions and 4) non-questions.
Results: The model achieved high reliability (95% agreement; K = .93). In order to determine if disagreements were due to machine or manual errors, we re-coded inconsistencies between the machine and manual codes. Manual coders erred more often than the machine, particularly by overlooking invitations and non-questions. Correcting errors in the manual codes further increased the model’s reliability (98% agreement, K = .97).
Conclusion: Automated question type coding can provide a time-efficient and highly accurate alternative to manual coding. We have made the trained model publicly available for use by researchers and practitioners.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright Holder: American Psychological Association. Year: 2025 : "The accepted manuscript version of this article will be publicly available on 03/20/2026." From publisher's page - MP
Uncontrolled Keywords:	forensic interview, question type, child victims
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology K Law > K Law (General) R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Law & Criminology (LAC)
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2025 15:45
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/50721

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