Item Response Theory

Item response theory (IRT) is an increasingly popular approach to the development, evaluation, and administration of psychological measures. We introduce, first, three IRT fundamentals: (a) item response functions, (b) information functions, and (c) invariance. We next illustrate how IRT modeling can improve the quality of psychological measurement. Available evidence suggests that the differences between IRT and traditional psychometric methods are not trivial; IRT applications can improve the precision and validity of psychological research across a wide range of subjects.

Download Full-text

An Alternative Analysis of Scale Data: A Marketing Application

Global Business Review ◽

10.1177/0972150916654066 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 163-180

Author(s):

Pooja Sengupta ◽

Himadri Roy Chaudhuri

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Response Theory ◽

Alternative Analysis ◽

Psychological Measures ◽

Marketing Application ◽

Graded Response ◽

Development Evaluation

The idea of materialism is one of the most important in modern consumer behaviour literature. In this article we have attempted at studying this component using the celebrated Richins and Dawson (1992) scale, where the required data has been collected using the standard instrument. This data is analyzed with the help of the mechanisms of item response theory (IRT). Specifically the graded response model has been used to analyze and get an insight into the problem of subjective well-being. Item response theory is an increasingly popular approach for development, evaluation and administration of psychological measures. We have used in this article one of the three IRT fundamentals, namely, the item response functions. We next illustrate how IRT modelling can be put to use to analyze the data collected in the study of the judgement component of subjective well-being. To that end, we have used the grm() function available in R. The results obtained are thereafter interpreted.

Download Full-text

Can the application of item response theory improve the quality of survey items for assessing human fingerprints on climate change?

Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa ◽

10.1080/0035919x.2021.1964105 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

R. Mugandani ◽

C. T. F. Murewi ◽

T. Chitata ◽

F. Chipepa ◽

B. T. Mudereri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Response Theory

Download Full-text

Using Rasch Analysis to Evaluate the Reliability and Validity of the Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire: An Item Response Theory Approach

Dysphagia ◽

10.1007/s00455-017-9873-4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 441-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Reinie Cordier ◽

Renée Speyer ◽

Antonio Schindler ◽

Emilia Michou ◽

Bas Joris Heijnen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Rasch Analysis ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Life Questionnaire ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Response Theory ◽

Quality Of Life Questionnaire

Download Full-text

An item response theory analysis of an item pool for the recovering quality of life (ReQoL) measure

Quality of Life Research ◽

10.1007/s11136-020-02622-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anju Devianee Keetharuth ◽

Jakob Bue Bjorner ◽

Michael Barkham ◽

John Browne ◽

Tim Croudace ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Measurement Precision ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Item Pool ◽

Response Theory ◽

Differential Item Function ◽

Wide Range ◽

Internal Construct Validity

Abstract Purpose ReQoL-10 and ReQoL-20 have been developed for use as outcome measures with individuals aged 16 and over, experiencing mental health difficulties. This paper reports modelling results from the item response theory (IRT) analyses that were used for item reduction. Methods From several stages of preparatory work including focus groups and a previous psychometric survey, a pool of items was developed. After confirming that the ReQoL item pool was sufficiently unidimensional for scoring, IRT model parameters were estimated using Samejima’s Graded Response Model (GRM). All 39 mental health items were evaluated with respect to item fit and differential item function regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and diagnosis. Scales were evaluated regarding overall measurement precision and known-groups validity (by care setting type and self-rating of overall mental health). Results The study recruited 4266 participants with a wide range of mental health diagnoses from multiple settings. The IRT parameters demonstrated excellent coverage of the latent construct with the centres of item information functions ranging from − 0.98 to 0.21 and with discrimination slope parameters from 1.4 to 3.6. We identified only two poorly fitting items and no evidence of differential item functioning of concern. Scales showed excellent measurement precision and known-groups validity. Conclusion The results from the IRT analyses confirm the robust structure properties and internal construct validity of the ReQoL instruments. The strong psychometric evidence generated guided item selection for the final versions of the ReQoL measures.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of the Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale-12 (MSWS-12) in a Dutch sample: Application of item response theory

Multiple Sclerosis Journal ◽

10.1177/1352458516630821 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (14) ◽

pp. 1867-1873 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lidwine Brigitta Mokkink ◽

Francisca Galindo-Garre ◽

Bernard MJ Uitdehaag

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Theory Model ◽

Walking Ability ◽

Response Theory ◽

Trait Level ◽

Sample Application ◽

Dutch Sample

Background: The Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale-12 (MSWS-12) measures walking ability from the patients’ perspective. We examined the quality of the MSWS-12 using an item response theory model, the graded response model (GRM). Methods: A total of 625 unique Dutch multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were included. After testing for unidimensionality, monotonicity, and absence of local dependence, a GRM was fit and item characteristics were assessed. Differential item functioning (DIF) for the variables gender, age, duration of MS, type of MS and severity of MS, reliability, total test information, and standard error of the trait level (θ) were investigated. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed a unidimensional structure of the 12 items of the scale, explaining 88% of the variance. Item 2 did not fit into the GRM model. Reliability was 0.93. Items 8 and 9 (of the 11 and 12 item version respectively) showed DIF on the variable severity, based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). However, the EDSS is strongly related to the content of both items. Conclusion: Our results confirm the good quality of the MSWS-12. The trait level (θ) scores and item parameters of both the 12- and 11-item versions were highly comparable, although we do not suggest to change the content of the MSWS-12.

Download Full-text

A note on monotonicity of item response functions for ordered polytomous item response theory models

British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology ◽

10.1111/bmsp.12131 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 71 (3) ◽

pp. 523-535 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hyeon-Ah Kang ◽

Ya-Hui Su ◽

Hua-Hua Chang

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Response Functions ◽

Response Theory ◽

Polytomous Item ◽

Polytomous Item Response Theory ◽

Polytomous Item Response ◽

Item Response Theory Models

Download Full-text

Entropy-Based Measures for Person Fit in Item Response Theory

Applied Psychological Measurement ◽

10.1177/0146621617698945 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (7) ◽

pp. 512-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

William R. Dardick ◽

Brandi A. Weiss

Keyword(s):

Item Response Theory ◽

Item Response ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Model Fit ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Person Fit ◽

Response Theory ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Irt Models

This article introduces three new variants of entropy to detect person misfit ( Ei, EMi, and EMRi), and provides preliminary evidence that these measures are worthy of further investigation. Previously, entropy has been used as a measure of approximate data–model fit to quantify how well individuals are classified into latent classes, and to quantify the quality of classification and separation between groups in logistic regression models. In the current study, entropy is explored through conceptual examples and Monte Carlo simulation comparing entropy with established measures of person fit in item response theory (IRT) such as lz, lz*, U, and W. Simulation results indicated that EMi and EMRi were successfully able to detect aberrant response patterns when comparing contaminated and uncontaminated subgroups of persons. In addition, EMi and EMRi performed similarly in showing separation between the contaminated and uncontaminated subgroups. However, EMRi may be advantageous over other measures when subtests include a small number of items. EMi and EMRi are recommended for use as approximate person-fit measures for IRT models. These measures of approximate person fit may be useful in making relative judgments about potential persons whose response patterns do not fit the theoretical model.

Download Full-text