This book develops an intuitive understanding of irt principles through the use of graphical displays and analogies to familiar psychological principles. While item response theory may be known primarily for its advances in theoretical modeling of responses to test items, equal progress has been made in its providing. Using r for item response theory model applications 1st. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Item response theory irt is a latent variable modeling approach used to minimize bias and optimize the measurement power of educational and psychological tests and other psychometric applications. This book provides a thorough overview of item response theory methodology, with a nice blend of theoretical psychometrics and practical applications. This book is combined with a web site to allow the reader to acquire the basic concepts of item response theory without becoming enmeshed in the underlying mathematical and computational complexities. This is the first in a series of 6 modules that introduces item response theory irt. Designed for researchers, psychometric professionals, and advanced students, this book clearly presents both the howto and the why of irt. Well written, very accessible, and at some points, kind of fun to read i just declared my nerd status. This is a title in our understanding statistics series, which is desi. It it not full of esoteric jargon, and it allows the reader to clearly grasp the fundamentals of irt.
The first edition, with its accompanying software, was designed to give the reader access to the basic concepts of item response theory without having to do the tedious mathematics. Using r for item response theory model applications ebook. Item response theory irt has moved beyond the confines of educational measurement into assessment domains such as personality. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. But, the genesis of item response theory irt can be traced back to the midthirties and early forties. It covered basic concepts, comparison to ctt methods, relative efficiency, optimal number of choices per item, flexilevel tests, multistage tests, tailored testing.
It is used for statistical analysis and development of assessments, often for high stakes tests such as the graduate record examination. Irt is the statistical basis for analyzing multiplechoice survey or test data for researchers, social scientists, and others who want to. This volume presents a wideranging handbook to item response theory and its applications to educational and psychological testing. Based upon items rather than test scores, the new approach was known as item response theory.
Fundamentals of item response theory sage publications inc. Three volume set crc press book drawing on the work of 75 internationally acclaimed experts in the field, handbook of item response theory, threevolume set presents all major item response models, classical and modern statistical tools used in item response theory irt, and major areas of applications of. Using familiar concepts from classical measurement methods and basic statistics, hambleton and colleagues introduce the basics of item response theory irt and explain the application of irt methods to problems in test construction, identification of potentially biased test items, test equating, and computerizedadaptive testing. In fact, the term item characteristic curve, which is one of the main irt concepts, can be attributed to ledyard tucker in 1946. The theory and practice of item response theory by r. Click download or read online button to get fundamentals of item response theory book now.
For me, the outstanding part is the one that clearly distinguish the rasch family from the. Drawing on the work of internationally acclaimed experts in the field, handbook of item response theory, volume one. While item response theory may be known primarily for its advances in theoretical modeling of responses to test items, equal progress has been made in its providing innovative solutions to daily testing problems. Designed for researchers, psychometric professionals, and advanced students, this book. Handbook of modern item response theory springerlink. Item response theory irt is widely used in education and psychology and is expanding its applications to other social science areas, medical research, and business as well. Item response theory irt is an approach used for survey development, evaluation, and scoring. It surveys contemporary irt models, estimation methods, and computer programs. The purpose of this book is to explain the new measurement theory to a primarily psychological audience. Polytomous irt models are given central coverage since many psychological tests use rating scales.
By the 1970s, irt had come to predominate in the work of measurement specialists. It is not the only modern test theory, but it is the most popular one and is currently an area of active research. Over the past twenty years there has been explosive growth in programs that can do irt, and within r there are at least four very powerful packages. The book also includes a thorough discussion of alternative procedures for estimating irt parameters, such as maximum likelihood estimation, marginal. By using familiar concepts from classical measurement methods and basic statistics, this book introduces the basics of item response theory irt and explains the application of irt methods to problems in test construction, identification of potentially biased test items, test equating and computerizedadaptive testing.
While the basic concepts of item response theory were, and are, straightforward, the underlying mathematics was somewhat advanced compared to that of classical test theory. The modern in the title of the book is indeed reflected in new developments such as nonparametric models and mixture models. Item response theory is used to describe the application of mathematical models to data from questionnaires and tests as a basis for measuring abilities, attitudes, or other variables. It is widely used in education to calibrate and evaluate items in. Item response theory aka irt is also sometimes called latent trait theory. Using r for item response theory model applications is a practical guide for students, instructors, practitioners, and applie. This book describes various item response theory models and furnishes detailed explanations of algorithms that can be used to estimate the item and ability parameters. Applications presents applications of item response theory to practical testing problems. The audience of the book is targeted toward those who want to further develop models around item response theory. Item response theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Fundamentals of item response theory download ebook pdf. I think this is an excellent resource for learning more about item response theory and i would honestly buy it rather than rent it. Its a theory of measurement, more precisely a psychometric theory.
The coverage is quite complete, including the standard dichotomous and polytomous unidimensional models as well as multidimensional models. This is book is awesome at explaining the irt model in plain english. Classical test theory is concerned with the reliability of a test and assumes that the items within the test are sampled at random from a domain of relevant items. This course introduces item response theory irt applied to both dichotomous twooutcome data and polytomous multiple outcome data. Many books have been written that address item response theory or contain irt or irtlike models. This first volume in a threevolume set covers many model developments that have occurred in item response theory irt during the last 20 years. The theory and practice of item response theory methodology in. Item response theory has become an essential component in the toolkit of every researcher in the behavioral sciences. It provides a powerful means to study individual responses to a variety of stimuli, and the methodology has been extended and developed to cover many different models of interaction. The theory and practice of item response theory methodology in the social sciences.
In it the differences in irt and classical approaches are introduced, specifically the differences in their. Extensively revised and expanded, this edition offers three new chapters discussing parameter estimation with multiple groups, parameter estimation for a test with mixed item. Item response theory multivariate applications series currently unavailable. In psychometrics, item response theory irt is a paradigm for the design, analysis, and scoring. Reliability is seen as a characteristic of the test and of the variance of the trait it. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Irt models describe the relationship between a persons response to a survey question and his or her standing on a latent i. It provides a powerful means to study individual responses to a variety of stimuli, and the methodology has been extended and developed to.
A really great book that provides detailed and step by step derivations and programmings of item response theory parameter estimation techniques. When frank baker wrote his classic the basics of item response theory in 1985, the field of educational assessment was dominated by classical test theory based on test scores. This volume presents a wideranging handbook to item response theory and its applications to. Ideal for clinical, industrial, counseling, educational, and. Other names and subsets include item characteristic curve theory, latent trait theory, rasch model, 2pl model, 3pl model and the birnbaum model. Item response theory irt is not only the psychometric theory underlying many major tests today, but it has many important research applications. The theory and practice of item response theory rafael. Item response theory irt the first hints of item response theory, also called latenttrait analysis and item characteristic curve theory, emerged in the mid1950s and late 1940s. Drawing on the work of internationally acclaimed experts in the field, handbook of item response theory, volume 3. Chapter 8 the new psychometrics item response theory. Item response theory is the study of test and item scores based on assumptions concerning the mathematical relationship between abilities or other hypothesized traits and item responses. In fact, the term item characteristic curve, which is one of the main irt. Item response theory clearly describes the most recently developed irt models and furnishes detailed explanations of algorithms that can be used to estimate the item or ability parameters under various irt models.
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