Notes and Quotes

All Measuring the Same Thing

Luigi Tesio (2003, Measuring Behaviours and Perceptions: Rasch Analysis as a Tool for Rehabilitation Research, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2003; 35: 105-115) presents a remarkable summary of the progress made in the last 15 years. His Table III (reproduced here) supports the contention that instruments developed at different times for different purposes may actually measuring the same thing. Historically, this parallels a major development in thermometry.

Source scale	Item	Logit measure (0-100 transform)	Fit mean-square
McGill Oswestry McGill FASQ FASQ Oswestry FASQ   Oswestry Oswestry	Aching Lifting Tiring Sitting Standing Traveling Low sit (raising from) Walking Personal care	60 57 56 55 53 48 47   42 34	0. 71 1. 13 0. 93 1. 07 1. 30 0. 79 0. 92   0. 83 0. 86

Table III. Rasch measure (logit transformed into 0-100 units) and fit mean square of the BACKILL scale for low-back pain syndromes, derived from existing scales (14). McGILL:McGill Pain Questionnaire-short form; OSWESTRY: Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire; FASQ: Functional Assessment Screening Questionnaire. Items made up a linear measure of "back illness". Fit indexes revealed good fit to the Rasch model.

"The development of common constructs can also contribute to a cohesive knowledge core and further enhance theoretical understanding."
Michael J. Feuer, Lisa Towne, and Richard J. Shavelson, in "Scientific Culture and Educational Research," Educational Researcher, 2002, 31, 8, p. 11

"... for only by varied iteration can alien conceptions be forced on reluctant minds."
Herbert Spencer, in the preface to The Data of Ethics, 1881. Courtesy of Lise DeShea

The Spirit of the Age and Fashion in Data Analysis Methods   "What today is a state-of-the-art research approach is tomorrow already like yesterday's snow."
Then, 1980?	Now, 2000:
Categorical data Explanation Operationalization Model Classification Statistical significance	Metrical data Description Measurement Method Quantification Effect size
Jü Rost. (2002) Zeitgeist und Moden empirischer Analysemethoden. ZUMA - Nachrichten Spezial Band 8, Von Generation zu Generation.

Psychometrics is at a Crossroads

I've come to believe that Psychometrics has become

1. too inbred - too many of us are paying attention only to ourselves. We have forgotten our users - psychologists and other social scientists.

2. too driven by mathematics without regard to practical usefulness.

3. too focused on minutiae - often mathematically tweaking existing work to provide a minute new feature that makes little (if any) useful difference.

4. to focused on methods and models that have gotten way more complicated than users can understand - and than we can communicate to anyone other than ourselves.

5. insufficiently driven by its original purpose of trying to provide mathematical tools useful to Psychologists.

The common denominator of these points is:

we are too focused on mathematics at the expense of usefulness.

I believe that Psychometrics is in need of rejuvenation, and that this can be done by expanding the purview of Psychometrics by working on

1. the development and use of Psychological tools that are useful in strengthening the scientific basis of the practice of Statistics; while at the same time strengthening the traditional focus on

2. the development and use of Statistical tools useful in strengthening the scientific basis of the practice of Psychology.

I encourage the field of Psychometrics to encompass and encourage the use of Psychological tools that are useful in strengthening the scientific basis of the practice of Statistics. These tools include the theories and methods of cognitive and perceptual Psychology, which are already being used to improve the scientific basis of the practice of Statistics - especially for Graphics and Software design.

Excerpted and edited from: Forrest W. Young, L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory, University of North Carolina, (1996) New Directions in Psychometrics. Invited presentation at the annual meeting of the Psychometric Society, Banff, Canada

Notes and Quotes … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 2003, 17:1, 916ff.

Rasch Books and Publications
Invariant Measurement: Using Rasch Models in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 2nd Edn. George Engelhard, Jr. & Jue Wang	Applying the Rasch Model (Winsteps, Facets) 4th Ed., Bond, Yan, Heene	Advances in Rasch Analyses in the Human Sciences (Winsteps, Facets) 1st Ed., Boone, Staver	Advances in Applications of Rasch Measurement in Science Education, X. Liu & W. J. Boone	Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences (Winsteps) Boone, Staver, Yale
Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets), Thomas Eckes	Statistical Analyses for Language Testers (Facets), Rita Green	Invariant Measurement with Raters and Rating Scales: Rasch Models for Rater-Mediated Assessments (Facets), George Engelhard, Jr. & Stefanie Wind	Aplicação do Modelo de Rasch (Português), de Bond, Trevor G., Fox, Christine M	Appliquer le modèle de Rasch: Défis et pistes de solution (Winsteps) E. Dionne, S. Béland
Exploring Rating Scale Functioning for Survey Research (R, Facets), Stefanie Wind	Rasch Measurement: Applications, Khine	Winsteps Tutorials - free Facets Tutorials - free	Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets) - free, J.M. Linacre	Fairness, Justice and Language Assessment (Winsteps, Facets), McNamara, Knoch, Fan
Other Rasch-Related Resources: Rasch Measurement YouTube Channel
Rasch Measurement Transactions & Rasch Measurement research papers - free	An Introduction to the Rasch Model with Examples in R (eRm, etc.), Debelak, Strobl, Zeigenfuse	Rasch Measurement Theory Analysis in R, Wind, Hua	Applying the Rasch Model in Social Sciences Using R, Lamprianou	El modelo métrico de Rasch: Fundamentación, implementación e interpretación de la medida en ciencias sociales (Spanish Edition), Manuel González-Montesinos M.
Rasch Models: Foundations, Recent Developments, and Applications, Fischer & Molenaar	Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, Georg Rasch	Rasch Models for Measurement, David Andrich	Constructing Measures, Mark Wilson	Best Test Design - free, Wright & Stone Rating Scale Analysis - free, Wright & Masters
Virtual Standard Setting: Setting Cut Scores, Charalambos Kollias	Diseño de Mejores Pruebas - free, Spanish Best Test Design	A Course in Rasch Measurement Theory, Andrich, Marais	Rasch Models in Health, Christensen, Kreiner, Mesba	Multivariate and Mixture Distribution Rasch Models, von Davier, Carstensen

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