Multidimensional Item Response Theory

Multidimensional Item Response Theory

Several decades of psychometric research have led to the development of sophisticated models for multidimensional test data, and in recent years, multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) has become a burgeoning topic in psychological and educational measurement. Considered a cutting-edge statistical technique, the methodology underlying MIRT can be complex, and therefore doesn’t receive much attention in introductory IRT courses. However author Wes Bonifay shows how MIRT can be understood and applied by anyone with a firm grounding in unidimensional IRT modeling. His volume includes practical examples and illustrations, along with numerous figures and diagrams. Multidimensional Item Response Theory includes snippets of R code interspersed throughout the text (with the complete R code included on an accompanying website) to guide readers in exploring MIRT models, estimating the model parameters, generating plots, and implementing the various procedures and applications discussed throughout the book.

Multidimensional Item Response Theory

Multidimensional Item Response Theory is the first book to give thorough coverage to this emerging area of psychometrics. The book describes the commonly used multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models and the important methods needed for their practical application. These methods include ways to determine the number of dimensions required to adequately model data, procedures for estimating model parameters, ways to define the space for a MIRT model, and procedures for transforming calibrations from different samples to put them in the same space. A full chapter is devoted to methods for multidimensional computerized adaptive testing. The text is appropriate for an advanced course in psychometric theory or as a reference work for those interested in applying MIRT methodology. A working knowledge of unidimensional item response theory and matrix algebra is assumed. Knowledge of factor analysis is also helpful.

Multidimensional Item Response Theory