{"title":"Added Value of Subscores for Tests With Polytomous Items","authors":"Kylie Gorney, Sandip Sinharay","doi":"10.1177/00131644241268128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241268128","url":null,"abstract":"Test-takers, policymakers, teachers, and institutions are increasingly demanding that testing programs provide more detailed feedback regarding test performance. As a result, there has been a growing interest in the reporting of subscores that potentially provide such detailed feedback. Haberman developed a method based on classical test theory for determining whether a subscore has added value over the total score. Sinharay conducted a detailed study using both real and simulated data and concluded that it is not common for subscores to have added value according to Haberman’s criterion. However, Sinharay almost exclusively dealt with data from tests with only dichotomous items. In this article, we show that it is more common for subscores to have added value in tests with polytomous items.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141933506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating The Predictive Reliability of Neural Networks in Psychological Research With Random Datasets","authors":"Yongtian Cheng, K. V. Petrides","doi":"10.1177/00131644241262964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241262964","url":null,"abstract":"Psychologists are emphasizing the importance of predictive conclusions. Machine learning methods, such as supervised neural networks, have been used in psychological studies as they naturally fit prediction tasks. However, we are concerned about whether neural networks fitted with random datasets (i.e., datasets where there is no relationship between ordinal independent variables and continuous or binary-dependent variables) can provide an acceptable level of predictive performance from a psychologist’s perspective. Through a Monte Carlo simulation study, we found that this kind of erroneous conclusion is not likely to be drawn as long as the sample size is larger than 50 with continuous-dependent variables. However, when the dependent variable is binary, the minimum sample size is 500 when the criteria are balanced accuracy ≥ .6 or balanced accuracy ≥ .65, and the minimum sample size is 200 when the criterion is balanced accuracy ≥ .7 for a decision error less than .05. In the case where area under the curve (AUC) is used as a metric, a sample size of 100, 200, and 500 is necessary when the minimum acceptable performance level is set at AUC ≥ .7, AUC ≥ .65, and AUC ≥ .6, respectively. The results found by this study can be used for sample size planning for psychologists who wish to apply neural networks for a qualitatively reliable conclusion. Further directions and limitations of the study are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141772234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Studying Factorial Invariance With Nominal Items: A Note on a Latent Variable Modeling Procedure","authors":"Tenko Raykov","doi":"10.1177/00131644241256626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241256626","url":null,"abstract":"A latent variable modeling procedure for studying factorial invariance and differential item functioning for multi-component measuring instruments with nominal items is discussed. The method is based on a multiple testing approach utilizing the false discovery rate concept and likelihood ratio tests. The procedure complements the Revuelta, Franco-Martinez, and Ximenez approach to factorial invariance examination, and permits localization of individual invariance violations. The outlined method does not require the selection of a reference observed variable and is illustrated with empirical data.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Note on Evaluation of Polytomous Item Locations With the Rating Scale Model and Testing Its Fit","authors":"Tenko Raykov, Martin Pusic","doi":"10.1177/00131644241259026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241259026","url":null,"abstract":"A procedure is outlined for point and interval estimation of location parameters associated with polytomous items, or raters assessing studied subjects or cases, which follow the rating scale model. The method is developed within the framework of latent variable modeling, and is readily applied in empirical research using popular software. The approach permits testing the goodness of fit of this widely used model, which represents a rather parsimonious item response theory model as a means of description and explanation of an analyzed data set. The procedure allows examination of important aspects of the functioning of measuring instruments with polytomous ordinal items, which may also constitute person assessments furnished by teachers, counselors, judges, raters, or clinicians. The described method is illustrated using an empirical example.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sanaz Nazari, Walter L. Leite, A. Corinne Huggins-Manley
{"title":"Enhancing the Detection of Social Desirability Bias Using Machine Learning: A Novel Application of Person-Fit Indices","authors":"Sanaz Nazari, Walter L. Leite, A. Corinne Huggins-Manley","doi":"10.1177/00131644241255109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241255109","url":null,"abstract":"Social desirability bias (SDB) is a common threat to the validity of conclusions from responses to a scale or survey. There is a wide range of person-fit statistics in the literature that can be employed to detect SDB. In addition, machine learning classifiers, such as logistic regression and random forest, have the potential to distinguish between biased and unbiased responses. This study proposes a new application of these classifiers to detect SDB by considering several person-fit indices as features or predictors in the machine learning methods. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation study showed that for a single feature, applying person-fit indices directly and logistic regression led to similar classification results. However, the random forest classifier improved the classification of biased and unbiased responses substantially. Classification was improved in both logistic regression and random forest by considering multiple features simultaneously. Moreover, cross-validation indicated stable area under the curves (AUCs) across machine learning classifiers. A didactical illustration of applying random forest to detect SDB is presented.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"2018 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141188132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is Effort Moderated Scoring Robust to Multidimensional Rapid Guessing?","authors":"Joseph A. Rios, Jiayi Deng","doi":"10.1177/00131644241246749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241246749","url":null,"abstract":"To mitigate the potential damaging consequences of rapid guessing (RG), a form of noneffortful responding, researchers have proposed a number of scoring approaches. The present simulation study examines the robustness of the most popular of these approaches, the unidimensional effort-moderated (EM) scoring procedure, to multidimensional RG (i.e., RG that is linearly related to examinee ability). Specifically, EM scoring is compared with the Holman–Glas (HG) method, a multidimensional scoring approach, in terms of model fit distortion, ability parameter recovery, and omega reliability distortion. Test difficulty, the proportion of RG present within a sample, and the strength of association between ability and RG propensity were manipulated to create 80 total conditions. Overall, the results showed that EM scoring provided improved model fit compared with HG scoring when RG comprised 12% or less of all item responses. Furthermore, no significant differences in ability parameter recovery and omega reliability distortion were noted when comparing these two scoring approaches under moderate degrees of RG multidimensionality. These limited differences were largely due to the limited impact of RG on aggregated ability (bias ranged from 0.00 to 0.05 logits) and reliability (distortion was ≤ .005 units) estimates when as much as 40% of item responses in the sample data reflected RG behavior.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140810537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparing Accuracy of Parallel Analysis and Fit Statistics for Estimating the Number of Factors With Ordered Categorical Data in Exploratory Factor Analysis","authors":"Hyunjung Lee, Heining Cham","doi":"10.1177/00131644241240435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241240435","url":null,"abstract":"Determining the number of factors in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is crucial because it affects the rest of the analysis and the conclusions of the study. Researchers have developed various methods for deciding the number of factors to retain in EFA, but this remains one of the most difficult decisions in the EFA. The purpose of this study is to compare the parallel analysis with the performance of fit indices that researchers have started using as another strategy for determining the optimal number of factors in EFA. The Monte Carlo simulation was conducted with ordered categorical items because there are mixed results in previous simulation studies, and ordered categorical items are common in behavioral science. The results of this study indicate that the parallel analysis and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) performed well in most conditions, followed by the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) and then by the comparative fit index (CFI). The robust corrections of CFI, TLI, and RMSEA performed better in detecting misfit underfactored models than the original fit indices. However, they did not produce satisfactory results in dichotomous data with a small sample size. Implications, limitations of this study, and future research directions are discussed.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140616292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the Influence of Response Styles on Continuous Scale Assessments: Insights From a Novel Modeling Approach","authors":"Hung-Yu Huang","doi":"10.1177/00131644241242789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241242789","url":null,"abstract":"The use of discrete categorical formats to assess psychological traits has a long-standing tradition that is deeply embedded in item response theory models. The increasing prevalence and endorsement of computer- or web-based testing has led to greater focus on continuous response formats, which offer numerous advantages in both respondent experience and methodological considerations. Response styles, which are frequently observed in self-reported data, reflect a propensity to answer questionnaire items in a consistent manner, regardless of the item content. These response styles have been identified as causes of skewed scale scores and biased trait inferences. In this study, we investigate the impact of response styles on individuals’ responses within a continuous scale context, with a specific emphasis on extreme response style (ERS) and acquiescence response style (ARS). Building upon the established continuous response model (CRM), we propose extensions known as the CRM-ERS and CRM-ARS. These extensions are employed to quantitatively capture individual variations in these distinct response styles. The effectiveness of the proposed models was evaluated through a series of simulation studies. Bayesian methods were employed to effectively calibrate the model parameters. The results demonstrate that both models achieve satisfactory parameter recovery. Neglecting the effects of response styles led to biased estimation, underscoring the importance of accounting for these effects. Moreover, the estimation accuracy improved with increasing test length and sample size. An empirical analysis is presented to elucidate the practical applications and implications of the proposed models.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140617770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Insufficient Effort Responses on the Order of Category Thresholds in the Polytomous Rasch Model","authors":"Kuan-Yu Jin, Thomas Eckes","doi":"10.1177/00131644241242806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241242806","url":null,"abstract":"Insufficient effort responding (IER) refers to a lack of effort when answering survey or questionnaire items. Such items typically offer more than two ordered response categories, with Likert-type scales as the most prominent example. The underlying assumption is that the successive categories reflect increasing levels of the latent variable assessed. This research investigates how IER affects the intended category order of Likert-type scales, focusing on the category thresholds in the polytomous Rasch model. In a simulation study, we examined several IER patterns in datasets generated from the mixture model for IER (MMIER). The key findings were (a) random responding and overusing the non-extreme categories of a five-category scale were each associated with high frequencies of disordered category thresholds; (b) raising the IER rate from 5% to 10% led to a substantial increase in threshold disordering, particularly among easy and difficult items; (c) narrow distances between adjacent categories (0.5 logits) were associated with more frequent disordering, compared with wide distances (1.0 logits). Two real-data examples highlighted the efficiency and utility of the MMIER for detecting latent classes of respondents exhibiting different forms of IER. Under the MMIER, the frequency of disordered thresholds was reduced substantially in both examples. The discussion focuses on the practical implications of using the MMIER in survey research and points to directions for future research.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"116 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140581547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Latent Variable Forests for Latent Variable Score Estimation","authors":"Franz Classe, Christoph Kern","doi":"10.1177/00131644241237502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644241237502","url":null,"abstract":"We develop a latent variable forest (LV Forest) algorithm for the estimation of latent variable scores with one or more latent variables. LV Forest estimates unbiased latent variable scores based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models with ordinal and/or numerical response variables. Through parametric model restrictions paired with a nonparametric tree-based machine learning approach, LV Forest estimates latent variable scores using models that are unbiased with respect to relevant subgroups in the population. This way, estimated latent variable scores are interpretable with respect to systematic influences of covariates without being biased by these variables. By building a tree ensemble, LV Forest takes parameter heterogeneity in latent variable modeling into account to capture subgroups with both good model fit and stable parameter estimates. We apply LV Forest to simulated data with heterogeneous model parameters as well as to real large-scale survey data. We show that LV Forest improves the accuracy of score estimation if parameter heterogeneity is present.","PeriodicalId":11502,"journal":{"name":"Educational and Psychological Measurement","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140581666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}