Item response theory for psychologists springerlink. In order to obtain the many advantages of item response theory, tests should be designed, constructed, analyzed, and. Six chapters focus on the measurement of cognitive abilities, four focus on personality measurement, and a closing chapter contains an overview of irt. This lack of congruence between the construction and analysis procedures has kept the full power of item response theory from being exploited. Best known clinical instruments include the wechsler iq tests, the mmpi2, and the rorschach test. Item response theory for psychologists ebook, 2000. As defined by the us national council on measurement in education ncme, psychometrics refers to psychological measurement. Psych 321 item response theory 101 flashcards quizlet. One could make a case that item response theory is the most important statistical method about which most of us know little or nothing. In classical test theory, items on a scale measuring a single construct are generally considered to be equivalent to each other. Item response theory irt has become a popular methodological framework for modeling response data from assessments in education and health. Item response theory for psychologists multivariate. Item response theory irt is also known as modern testing theory or latent trait theory. It will be a useful book for a first course in irta good book.
Irt provides a foundation for statistical methods that are utilized in contexts such as test development, item analysis, equating, item. The theory and practice of item response theory rafael. The writing itself can be a little difficult, quite dense and featuring several overlong and to me, at least baffling sentences. Item response theory provides a way of measuring what. This volume is designed to supplement contemporary textbooks on measurement and testing by explicating some often neglected topics, with particular emphasis on item response theory irt. This paper aims to provide a didactic application of irt and to highlight some of these advantages for psychological test development. Irt measures the specific characteristics of each item. Item response theory irt is not only the psychometric theory underlying many major tests today, but it has many important research applications. Personal reections on the origins of the model when item response theory irt originated and was developed in psychology and sociology in the 1940s, 1950s, and the first half of the 1960s, the theory only dealt with dichotomous responses, where there are only two item score categories, for example, correct and incorrect in ability measurement, true and false in personality measurement. Classical test theory as a firstorder item response theory. Item response theory for psychologists multivariate applications series 9780805828191.
An introduction to the theories of personality peter. Unfortunately, the few available textbooks are not easily accessible to the audience of psychological researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this book is to explain the new measurement theory to a primarily psychological audience. Psychological testing techniques are a crowning achievement of scientific psychology. Item response theory irt is arguably one of the most influential developments in the field of educational and psychological measurement. Item response theory in scale development research. It, isbn 9780805828184 buy the item response theory for psychologists ebook. Chapter 8 the new psychometrics item response theory. Ideal for clinical, industrial, counseling, educational, and. A respected book item response theory for psychologists 7 targets the psychologists. These topics come together in overviews of validity and, finally, test evaluation. Item response theory for psychologists multivariate applications series 1 by embretson, susan e. Item response theory irt is arguably one of the most influential developments in the field of.
In this sense, classical test theory ctt has been extensively serving the testing field for about 100 years. Besides, hambleton 6 expressed that in five to ten years all testing will be directed on the web aside. The nook book ebook of the item response theory by susan e. An application of item response theory to psychological. Item response theory for psychologists multivariate applications series by susan e. Item response theory for psychologists request pdf. Mallinckrodt, miles, and recabarrens contribution in this volume of the counseling psychologist attempted to help integrate the use of item response theory in the scale development process. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading item response theory. Although demars irt can be considered to be an introductory book and requires almost no mathstats background it covers a variety of topics about item response theory. Although they are to be commended for this endeavor. Computer adaptive testing, differential item functioning, faking, and the mbti. Item response theory for psychologists susan e embretson. However, the end of the process is rewarding when the resulting scale is psychometrically sound.
The book easily passes the did i wish i had used this book during my phd. It is not the only modern test theory, but it is the most popular one and is currently an area of active research. It surveys contemporary irt models, estimation methods, and computer programs. Topics include test development, item writing, item analysis, reliability, dimensionality, and item response theory. This book develops an intuitive understanding of irt principles through the use of graphical displays and analogies to familiar psychological principles. Item response theory, graded response model, psychological assessment, affects background valid and reliable measures are essential to the field of psychology, as well as, to the study of abilities, aptitudes, and attitudes. Item response theory for psychologists usually ships within 3 to 5 weeks. Steven paul reise item response theory irt is, increasingly, the psychometric method used for contemporary psychological tests. The goal of this book is to explain this measurement theory. Testing can be used to quantify almost any psychological construct, including personality, psychopathology, skills and attitudes. Item response theory aka irt is also sometimes called latent trait theory.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Application to truescore prediction from a possibly nonparallel test. The theory and practice of item response theory by r. 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. The quality of questions seeing how appropriate they were for the respondents and how well they measured their abilitytrait.
Symposium conducted at the annual conference of the society for industrial and organizational psychology, st. This book provides an introduction to the theory and application of measurement in education and psychology. Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement. Item response theory psychology oxford bibliographies. Rasch, georg 19601980 probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment. Item response theory for psychologists multivariate applications book series susan e.
Item response theory for psychologists multivariate applications series. Other names and subsets include item characteristic curve theory, latent trait theory, rasch model, 2pl model, 3pl model and the birnbaum model. This is a modern test theory as opposed to classical test theory. Designed for researchers, psychometric professionals, and advanced students, this book clearly presents both the howto and the why of irt. As a result of a comprehensive survey of the related literature, the author provides nuggets of information about a wide range of rules of thumb and analysis alternatives. Theory and practice provides test users, test developers, practitioners and researchers in the social sciences, education and health with an evaluative guide to choosing, using, interpreting and developing tests. Item response theory irt, also known as latent trait theory or modern mental test theory. Generally, it refers to the field in psychology and education that is devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and related activities. Controversies in item response theory hutchinson, t. Its aim is to give readers a thorough grasp of the principles and limitations of testing, together with the.
This book is an accessible introduction to irt, aimed, as the title says, at psychologists. Polytomous irt models are given central coverage since many psychological tests use rating scales. Synopsis item response theory irt is a psychometric method used for contemporary psychological tests. Introduction to educational and psychological measurement. It is widely used in education to calibrate and evaluate items in tests, questionnaires, and other instruments and to score subjects on their abilities, attitudes, or. Harvey chair, using item response theory to address assessment challenges in io. Whereas classical test theory focuses on the test as a whole, item response theory shifts its focus to the individual items questions themselves. Familiar psychological concepts are used to help explain various irt principles. Eric clearinghouse on assessment and evaluation, university of maryland, college park, md. Transitions to parenthood rob palkovitz and marvin sussman eds. 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. Martin seligman is a hugely experienced clinical psychologist, and in this book. Steven p reise this book develops an intuitive understanding of irt principles through the use of graphical displays and analogies to familiar psychological principles.