This article aims to clarify fundamental aspects of the process of assigning fuzzy scores to conditions based on family resemblance (FR) structures by considering prototype and set theories. Prototype theory and set theory consider FR structures from two different angles. Specifically, set theory links the conceptualization of FR to the idea of…

We present a logistic function of a monotonic polynomial with a lower asymptote, allowing additional flexibility beyond the three-parameter logistic model. We develop a maximum marginal likelihood based approach to estimate the item parameters. The new item response model is demonstrated on math assessment data from a state, and a computationally…

We study the properties of two specification tests that have been applied to a variety of estimators in the context of value-added measures (VAMs) of teacher and school quality: the Hausman test for choosing between random and fixed effects and a test for feedback (sometimes called a "falsification test"). We discuss theoretical…

Research synthesis of evaluation findings is a multistep process. An investigator identifies a research question, acquires the relevant literature, codes findings from that literature, and analyzes the coded data to estimate the average treatment effect and its distribution in a population of interest. The process of estimating the average…

To rule out the need for a two-parameter item response theory (IRT) model during item analysis by Rasch models, it is important to check the Rasch model's assumption that all items have the same item discrimination. Biserial and polyserial correlation coefficients measuring the association between items and restscores are often used in an informal…

The 2009 college football season is here, but there has been a continuing controversy swirling over how the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) selects its national champion. College football uses a multi-criterion decision matrix (MCDM) evaluation technique to determine which two teams will play for the national championship. We analyzed the BCS…

There is evidence to suggest that the effects of behavioral interventions may be limited to specific types of individuals, but methods for evaluating such outcomes have not been fully developed. This study proposes the use of finite mixture models to evaluate whether interventions, and, specifically, group randomized trials, impact participants…

Presents a visualization tool for information retrieval that can display two different similarity measures, angle and distance, in the same space. Discusses the visual display of information-retrieval evaluation models and develops a new retrieval means based on the visual retrieval tool, the controlling bar. (Author/LRW)

Full account of the latent regression model for the National Assessment of Educational Progress is given. The treatment includes derivation of the EM algorithm, Newton-Raphson method, and the asymptotic standard errors. The paper also features the use of the adaptive Gauss-Hermite numerical integration method as a basic tool to evaluate…

Discussion of connectionist views for adaptive clustering in information retrieval focuses on a connectionist clustering technique and activation spreading-based information retrieval model using the interaction information retrieval method. Presents theoretical as well as simulation results as regards computational complexity and includes…

Provides an overview of journal evaluation indicators, highlighting strengths and weaknesses and their range of applicability. Topics include the definition of a quality journal; different notions of impact factors; citation models; electronic journals; ranking journals; possible biases in citation databases; and using the journal impact in…

Introduces a cost-benefit transfer model which considers a performer's perception of need, sensibility, and effort to determine the likelihood of putting to use an idea learned in training. The model predicts use through a mathematical formula: the product of need and sensibility divided by effort. Case evidence of academic physicians are cited in…

Explains how a competition-based connectionist model for diagnostic problem-solving is adapted to information retrieval. Topics include probabilistic causal networks; Bayesian networks; the neural network model; empirical studies of test collections that evaluated retrieval performance; precision results; and the use of a thesaurus to provide…

Discussion of user queries in information retrieval highlights the experimental evaluation of an adaptive linear model that constructs improved query vectors from user preference judgments on a sample set of documents. The performance of this method is compared with that of standard relevance feedback techniques. (28 references) (LRW)

Describes an evaluation model for expansion systems in information retrieval, i.e., systems expanding a user selection of documents to provide the user with a larger set of documents sharing the same or related characteristics. Highlights include a test protocol and evaluation measures for the efficiency of expansion systems. (Contains 29…