The purpose of the study was to determine comparability of an online version to the original paper-pencil version of Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). This study employed methods from both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings from CTT analyses supported the reliability and discriminant validity of both versions. Findings from IRT analyses confirmed that both version...

An approach called generalizability in item response modeling (GIRM) is introduced in this article. The GIRM approach essentially incorporates the sampling model of generalizability theory (GT) into the scaling model of item response theory (IRT) by making distributional assumptions about the relevant measurement facets. By specifying a random effects measurement model, and taking advantage of ...

Item response theory (IRT) is an important method of assessing the validity of measurement scales that is underutilized in the field of psychiatry. IRT describes the relationship between a latent trait (e.g., the construct that the scale proposes to assess), the properties of the items in the scale, and respondents' answers to the individual items. This paper introduces the basic premise, assum...

Benefits of physical activity for those with arthritis are clear, yet physical activity is difficult to initiate and maintain. Self-efficacy is a key modifiable psychosocial determinant of physical activity. This study examined two scales for self-efficacy for exercise behavior (SEEB) to identify their strengths and weaknesses using item response theory (IRT) from community-based randomized con...

The automated assembly of alternate test forms for online delivery provides an alternative to computer-administered, fixed test forms, or computerized-adaptive tests when a testing program migrates from paper/pencil testing to computer-based testing. The weighted deviations model (WDM) heuristic is particularly promising for automated test assembly (ATA) because it is computationally straightfo...

Along with the increasing popularity of item response theory (IRT) in testing practices, it is important to check a fundamental assumption of most of the popular IRT models, which is unidimensionality. Nevertheless, it is hard for educational and psychological tests to be strictly unidimensional. The tests studied in this paper are from a standardized high-stake testing program. They feature po...

Missing data, such as item responses in multilevel data, are ubiquitous in educational research settings. Researchers in the item response theory (IRT) context have shown that ignoring such missing data can create problems in the estimation of the IRT model parameters. Consequently, several imputation methods for dealing with missing item data have been proposed and shown to be effective when a...

The progress test is used to provide useful summative and formative judgments about medical students' knowledge without distorting learning. The test samples the complete knowledge domain expected of new graduates on completion of their course, regardless of the year level of the student. Item Response Theory (IRT) have been proposed for evaluating examinations in medical education. Although IR...

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 ...

Objective The objective of this study was to report the item response theory (IRT) calibration of an 18-item bank to measure general physical function (GPF) in a wide range of conditions and evaluate the validity of the derived scores. Methods All 18 items were administered to a large sample of patients (n=2337) who responded to the items in the context of their outpatient rehabilitation care...