Since the Handbook of Human Intelligence appeared in 1982, the "psychometric approach" has changed dramatically. Traditionally, the psychometric approach was synonymous with the factor-analytic approach. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to discover the number and nature of the factors that underlie performance on cognitive tasks. Carroll's (1993) three-stratum model of intellect synthesi...

BACKGROUND Although biostatistics and clinical epidemiology are essential for comprehending medical evidence, research has shown consistently low and variable knowledge among postgraduate medical trainees. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in the complexity of statistical methods among top-tier medical journals. AIMS To develop the Biostatics and Clinical Epidemiology Skills (BACES) ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS An item response theory (IRT)-based scoring approach to the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) can account for the pattern of scores across the CDR items (domains) and their differential abilities to indicate dementia severity. In doing so, an IRT-based approach can provide greater precision than other CDR scoring algorithms. However, neither a good set of item parameters nor ...

CONTEXT Item response theory (IRT) measurement models are discussed in the context of their potential usefulness in various medical education settings such as assessment of achievement and evaluation of clinical performance. PURPOSE The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast IRT measurement with the more familiar classical measurement theory (CMT) and to explore the benefits of IR...

BACKGROUND For the Low Vision Quality Of Life questionnaire (LVQOL) it is unknown whether the psychometric properties are satisfactory when an item response theory (IRT) perspective is considered. This study evaluates some essential psychometric properties of the LVQOL questionnaire in an IRT model, and investigates differential item functioning (DIF). METHODS Cross-sectional data were used f...

OBJECTIVE To develop an item response theory (IRT) calibrated Grief and Loss item bank as part of the Spinal Cord Injury--Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system. DESIGN A literature review guided framework development of grief/loss. New items were created from focus groups. Items were revised based on expert review and patient feedback and were then field tested. Analyses included confi...

This study aimed at investigating differential item functioning (DIF) on the Special English Test of the Iranian National University Entrance Exam (INUEE). The effect of gender and subject area was taken into account. The study utilized one-parameter IRT model with a sample of 36000 students who sat for the INUEE Special English Test in 2004 and/or 2005. The findings confirmed the presence of D...

Assessment of test bias is important to establish the construct validity of tests. Assessment of differential item functioning (DIF) is an important first step in this process. DIF is present when examinees from different groups have differing probabilities of success on an item, after controlling for overall ability level. Here, we present analysis of DIF in the Cognitive Assessment Screening ...