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Comparing distributions of item responses for two groups
Author(s) -
Rosenbaum Paul R.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
british journal of mathematical and statistical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.157
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 2044-8317
pISSN - 0007-1102
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8317.1985.tb00836.x
Subject(s) - consistency (knowledge bases) , mathematics , statistics , item response theory , latent variable , variable (mathematics) , statistical hypothesis testing , observable , test (biology) , group (periodic table) , differential item functioning , econometrics , psychometrics , discrete mathematics , mathematical analysis , paleontology , biology , physics , chemistry , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
If one group of examinees can be described as having generally higher ability to respond correctly to the items on an exam than some other group—where ability is defined by a unidimensional item response model—then the observable distributions of item responses must satisfy certain constraints. Standard statistical methods for discrete data may be used to test the consistency of these constraints with observed data. In an example, the observed pattern of item responses is found to be inconsistent with a difference in the distribution of a unidimensional latent variable.