In selected-response assessments such as attitude surveys with Likert-type rating scales, examinees often select from rating scale categories to reflect their locations on a construct. Researchers have observed that some examinees exhibit "response styles," which are systematic patterns of responses in which examinees are more likely to…

Rater-mediated assessments are a common methodology for measuring persons, investigating rater behavior, and/or defining latent constructs. The purpose of this article is to provide a pedagogical framework for examining rater variability in the context of rater-mediated assessments using three distinct models. The first model is the observation…

Researchers have explored a variety of topics related to identifying and distinguishing among specific types of rater effects, as well as the implications of different types of incomplete data collection designs for rater-mediated assessments. In this study, we used simulated data to examine the sensitivity of latent trait model indicators of…

Mokken scale analysis (MSA) is a probabilistic-nonparametric approach to item response theory (IRT) that can be used to evaluate fundamental measurement properties with less strict assumptions than parametric IRT models. This instructional module provides an introduction to MSA as a probabilistic-nonparametric framework in which to explore…

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the use of explanatory models based on Rasch measurement theory to detect systematic relationships between student and item characteristics and achievement differences using differential item functioning (DIF), differential group functioning (DGF), and differential person functioning (DPF) techniques. The…