Topic models are mathematical and statistical models used to analyze textual data. The objective of topic models is to gain information about the latent semantic space of a set of related textual data. The semantic space of a set of textual data contains the relationship between documents and words and how they are used. Topic models are becoming…

The online deployment of Technology Engineered online Student Ratings of Instruction (SRIs) by colleges and universities in the United States has dynamically changed the deployment of course evaluation. This research investigation is the fourth part of a post hoc study that analytically and psychometrically examines the design, reliability, and…

The magnitude of statistical bias for the phi-coefficient was investigated, using computer simulated examinations in which all the students had equal knowledge. Several modifications of phi were tested, but when applied to real examinations, none succeeded in improving its reproducibility when items are re-used on equivalent student groups.…

Two popular models for performing multidimensional scaling, Tucker and Messick's points-of-view model, and Tucker's three mode model, are combined into a single analytic procedure, the 3M-POV model. The procedure is described and its strengths are discussed. Carroll and Chang's INDSCAL model is also mentioned. (JKS)

This paper examines the properties of the Item Efficiency Index proposed by Neill and Jackson (1976; EJ 137 077) for minimum redundancy item analysis. (Author/BW)

Recent advances in item analysis have provided greater capabilities for the analysis of tests, but have also significantly increased the gap between the theory and practice of item analysis. This paper traces the lines of development in item analysis under latent trait theory. (MV)

A strategy for the pairwise assessment which may be used to evaluate the nature of both "prerequisite" and "transference" relations existing among a set of traits is presented. Both confirmatory and exploratory strategies are presented. An example of how the strategy would be used is presented in the exploratory context.…

Contingency analyses have been employed to assess the degree to which outcomes of successive tests of corresponding items deviate from stochastic independence. A method of adjusting contingency tables to remove the effects of subject and item inhomogeneities, is presented. The method represents a partial solution to the "Simpson's…

For the six available sets of empirical data, the discrimination (slope) parameter of the logistic item characteristic curve was found to have a significant positive correlation over items with the difficulty (location) parameter. This unpleasant situation can be eliminated by a suitably chosen transformation of the ability scale. (Author/RC)

The present study compared six methods, two of which utilize the content structure of items, to estimate total-test scores using 450 students and 60 items of the 110-item Stanford Mental Arithmetic Test. Three methods yielded fairly good estimates of the total-test score. (Author/RL)

A class of multidimensional latent trait models is described. The properties of the model parameters, and initial results on the accuracy of a maximum likelihood procedure for estimating the model parameters are discussed. The model presented is a special case of the general model described by Rasch (1961), with close similarities to the models…

A scaling technique known as the Method of Reciprocal Averages has been in use since the early 1930's. This technique yields a set of item response weights for a psychological inventory which maximizes the internal consistency of the inventory for a group of subjects. Although the technique has been used for many years, its mathematical…

To assess the effects of correlated abilities on test characteristics, and to explore the effects of correlated abilities on the use of a multidimensional item response theory model which does not explicitly account for such a correlation, two tests were constructed. One had two relatively unidimensional subsets of items, the other had all…

A method of estimating the operating characteristics of a new test item added to an established test without assuming a prior model has been proposed by the author. In this paper, the author extends this logic by proposing a different hypothesized distribution of the resulting estimate. The former method used a normal approximation; the present…

Factor analysis is the traditional method for studying the dimensionality of test data. However, under common conditions, the factor analysis of tetrachoric correlations does not recover the underlying structure of dichotomous data. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the factor analyses of tetrachoric correlations is unlikely to…