A Comparison of Two MCMC Algorithms for the 2PL IRT Model

Author(s):  
Meng-I Chang ◽  
Yanyan Sheng
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noboru Iwata ◽  
Akizumi Tsutsumi ◽  
Takafumi Wakita ◽  
Ryuichi Kumagai ◽  
Hiroyuki Noguchi ◽  
...  

Abstract. To investigate the effect of response alternatives/scoring procedures on the measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) which has the four response alternatives, a polytomous item response theory (IRT) model was applied to the responses of 2,061 workers and university students (1,640 males, 421 females). Test information functions derived from the polytomous IRT analyses on the CES-D data with various scoring procedures indicated that: (1) the CES-D with its standard (0-1-2-3) scoring procedure should be useful for screening to detect subjects with “at high-risk” of depression if the θ point showing the highest information corresponds to the cut-off point, because of its extremely higher information; (2) the CES-D with the 0-1-1-2 scoring procedure could cover wider range of depressive severity, suggesting that this scoring procedure might be useful in cases where more exhaustive discrimination in symptomatology is of interest; and (3) the revised version of CES-D with replacing original positive items into negatively revised items outperformed the original version. These findings have never been demonstrated by the classical test theory analyses, and thus the utility of this kind of psychometric testing should be warranted to further investigation for the standard measures of psychological assessment.


Author(s):  
Philipp A. Freund ◽  
Annette Lohbeck

Abstract. Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that the degree of autonomous behavior regulation is a characteristic of distinct motivation types which thus can be ordered on the so-called Autonomy-Control Continuum (ACC). The present study employs an item response theory (IRT) model under the ideal point response/unfolding paradigm in order to model the response process to SDT motivation items in theoretical accordance with the ACC. Using data from two independent student samples (measuring SDT motivation for the academic subjects of Mathematics and German as a native language), it was found that an unfolding model exhibited a relatively better fit compared to a dominance model. The item location parameters under the unfolding paradigm showed clusters of items representing the different regulation types on the ACC to be (almost perfectly) empirically separable, as suggested by SDT. Besides theoretical implications, perspectives for the application of ideal point response/unfolding models in the development of measures for non-cognitive constructs are addressed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014662162110138
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Rios ◽  
James Soland

Suboptimal effort is a major threat to valid score-based inferences. While the effects of such behavior have been frequently examined in the context of mean group comparisons, minimal research has considered its effects on individual score use (e.g., identifying students for remediation). Focusing on the latter context, this study addressed two related questions via simulation and applied analyses. First, we investigated how much including noneffortful responses in scoring using a three-parameter logistic (3PL) model affects person parameter recovery and classification accuracy for noneffortful responders. Second, we explored whether improvements in these individual-level inferences were observed when employing the Effort Moderated IRT (EM-IRT) model under conditions in which its assumptions were met and violated. Results demonstrated that including 10% noneffortful responses in scoring led to average bias in ability estimates and misclassification rates by as much as 0.15 SDs and 7%, respectively. These results were mitigated when employing the EM-IRT model, particularly when model assumptions were met. However, once model assumptions were violated, the EM-IRT model’s performance deteriorated, though still outperforming the 3PL model. Thus, findings from this study show that (a) including noneffortful responses when using individual scores can lead to potential unfounded inferences and potential score misuse, and (b) the negative impact that noneffortful responding has on person ability estimates and classification accuracy can be mitigated by employing the EM-IRT model, particularly when its assumptions are met.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yetti Supriyati ◽  
Dwi Susanti ◽  
Slamet Maulana

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn G. De Jong ◽  
Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp ◽  
Jean-Paul Fox

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Black ◽  
Stephen F. Butler
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Uto

AbstractPerformance assessment, in which human raters assess examinee performance in a practical task, often involves the use of a scoring rubric consisting of multiple evaluation items to increase the objectivity of evaluation. However, even when using a rubric, assigned scores are known to depend on characteristics of the rubric’s evaluation items and the raters, thus decreasing ability measurement accuracy. To resolve this problem, item response theory (IRT) models that can estimate examinee ability while considering the effects of these characteristics have been proposed. These IRT models assume unidimensionality, meaning that a rubric measures one latent ability. In practice, however, this assumption might not be satisfied because a rubric’s evaluation items are often designed to measure multiple sub-abilities that constitute a targeted ability. To address this issue, this study proposes a multidimensional IRT model for rubric-based performance assessment. Specifically, the proposed model is formulated as a multidimensional extension of a generalized many-facet Rasch model. Moreover, a No-U-Turn variant of the Hamiltonian Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is adopted as a parameter estimation method for the proposed model. The proposed model is useful not only for improving the ability measurement accuracy, but also for detailed analysis of rubric quality and rubric construct validity. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed model through simulation experiments and application to real data.


Author(s):  
Michael Hynes

A ubiquitous problem in physics is to determine expectation values of observables associated with a system. This problem is typically formulated as an integration of some likelihood over a multidimensional parameter space. In Bayesian analysis, numerical Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are employed to solve such integrals using a fixed number of samples in the Markov Chain. In general, MCMC algorithms are computationally expensive for large datasets and have difficulties sampling from multimodal parameter spaces. An MCMC implementation that is robust and inexpensive for researchers is desired. Distributed computing systems have shown the potential to act as virtual supercomputers, such as in the SETI@home project in which millions of private computers participate. We propose that a clustered peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network serves as an ideal structure to run Markovian state exchange algorithms such as Parallel Tempering (PT). PT overcomes the difficulty in sampling from multimodal distributions by running multiple chains in parallel with different target distributions andexchanging their states in a Markovian manner. To demonstrate the feasibility of peer-to-peer Parallel Tempering (P2P PT), a simple two-dimensional dataset consisting of two Gaussian signals separated by a region of low probability was used in a Bayesian parameter fitting algorithm. A small connected peer-to-peer network was constructed using separate processes on a linux kernel, and P2P PT was applied to the dataset. These sampling results were compared with those obtained from sampling the parameter space with a single chain. It was found that the single chain was unable to sample both modes effectively, while the P2P PT method explored the target distribution well, visiting both modes approximately equally. Future work will involve scaling to many dimensions and large networks, and convergence conditions with highly heterogeneous computing capabilities of members within the network.


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