NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ887377
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jun
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3123
EISSN: N/A
Paradoxical Results and Item Bundles
Hooker, Giles; Finkelman, Matthew
Psychometrika, v75 n2 p249-271 Jun 2010
Hooker, Finkelman, and Schwartzman ("Psychometrika," 2009, in press) defined a paradoxical result as the attainment of a higher test score by changing answers from correct to incorrect and demonstrated that such results are unavoidable for maximum likelihood estimates in multidimensional item response theory. The potential for these results to occur leads to the undesirable possibility of a subject's best answer being detrimental to them. This paper considers the existence of paradoxical results in tests composed of item bundles when compensatory models are used. We demonstrate that paradoxical results can occur when bundle effects are modeled as nuisance parameters for each subject. However, when these nuisance parameters are modeled as random effects, or used in a Bayesian analysis, it is possible to design tests comprised of many short bundles that avoid paradoxical results and we provide an algorithm for doing so. We also examine alternative models for handling dependence between item bundles and show that using fixed dependency effects is always guaranteed to avoid paradoxical results. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A