We propose new methods for identifying and classifying aberrant response patterns (ARPs) by means of functional data analysis. These methods take the person response function (PRF) of an individual and compare it with the pattern that would correspond to a generic individual of the same ability according to the item-person response surface. ARPs…

Test of homogeneity of covariances (or homoscedasticity) among several groups has many applications in statistical analysis. In the context of incomplete data analysis, tests of homoscedasticity among groups of cases with identical missing data patterns have been proposed to test whether data are missing completely at random (MCAR). These tests of…

This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to explore the quantitative relative efficiency of 18 classes of freshmen students studying a course of English conversation in a university of Taiwan from the academic year 2004-2006. A diagram of teaching performance improvement mechanism is designed to identify key performance indicators for…

This paper proposes a semiparametric Bayesian framework for the analysis of associations among multivariate longitudinal categorical variables in high-dimensional data settings. This type of data is frequent, especially in the social and behavioral sciences. A semiparametric hierarchical factor analysis model is developed in which the…

A Bayesian nonparametric model is introduced for score equating. It is applicable to all major equating designs, and has advantages over previous equating models. Unlike the previous models, the Bayesian model accounts for positive dependence between distributions of scores from two tests. The Bayesian model and the previous equating models are…

Discussions of efficiency among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are often missing in academic conversations. This article seeks to assess efficiency of individual HBCUs using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a non-parametric technique that can synthesize multiple inputs and outputs to determine a single efficiency score for…

Inspection of differential item functioning (DIF) in translated test items can be informed by graphical comparisons of item response functions (IRFs) across translated forms. Due to the many forms of DIF that can emerge in such analyses, it is important to develop statistical tests that can confirm various characteristics of DIF when present.…

This study introduces an order-constrained Bayes inference framework useful for analyzing data containing dichotomous scored item responses, under the assumptions of either the monotone homogeneity model or the double monotonicity model of nonparametric item response theory (NIRT). The framework involves the implementation of Gibbs sampling to…

A method for ordering persons and items when all responses are ordinal was developed and applied to several sets of questionnaire data (from undergraduates) and one set of archeological data. The method provides a possible nonparametric treatment of data usually treated by more traditional psychometric methods. (SLD)

In a study of the effects of complainers' sex, age, perceived situational seriousness, and social class on the use of conversational strategies in their complaining behavior, 465 subjects of varying age, sex, and social class were observed and tape recorded in spontaneous conversation by 25 field workers. The field workers also filled out a…

STATGRAPHICS, a statistical package written for the IBM PC/XT/AT, is reviewed. In addition to superb graphics, STATGRAPHICS is unequalled in time series procedures, quality control, linear programming, and other mathematical procedures. The modules for regression analysis, categorical data analysis, and nonparametric analysis are good, but contain…