Item response theory

This is a title in our Understanding Statistics series, which is designed to provide researchers with authoritative guides to understanding, presenting and critiquing analyses and associated inferences. Each volume in the series demonstrates how the relevant topic should be reported — including detail surrounding what can be said, and how it should be said, as well as drawing boundaries around what cannot appropriately be claimed or inferred.

This volume addresses an important issue for the design of survey instruments, which is rarely taught in graduate programs beyond those specifically for statisticians. Item Response Theory is used to describe the application of mathematical models to data from questionnaires and tests as a basis for measuring abilities, attitudes, or other variables. It is used for statistical analysis and development of assessments, often for high stakes tests such as the Graduate Record Examination. The author is known for her clear, accessible writing; like all books in this series, this volume includes examples of both good and bad write-ups for methods sections of journal articles.