New Methods - Speakers and Presentations
Sunday, October 15, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
"Applications of Item Response Theory to Improve Health Outcomes Assessment"
Presentation outline available by clicking here.
Ronald Hambleton, Distinguished University Professor, Chairperson of the Research and Evaluation Methods Program and Co-Director of the Center for Educational Assessment at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Dr. Hambleton is currently conducting research on a number of topics: computer-based testing issues and new test designs, validity of emerging item formats for assessment, development and validation of new methods for setting standards on performance assessments, methods and guidelines for adapting tests from one language and culture to another, design and field-testing of new approaches for standards-based score reporting, and implementation issues in large-scale assessment programs. Hambleton was recently chosen by the American Psychological Association to receive its Samuel J. Messick Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and an active member in the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), the International Test Commission (ITC) and the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP).
Abstract: "Applications of Item Response Theory to Improve Health Outcomes Assessment"
The models, methods, and practices associated with item response theory, researched and developed heavily over the last 30 years in the field of educational testing to overcome many important shortcomings of traditional psychometric methods, are now being extended to assessment in the social and health sciences. After a review of classical measurement models and methods and their shortcomings, IRT models and their properties will be introduced. Of special interest in the presentation will be several of the models and their important features that seem especially useful to social and health scientists. The application of these models to health outcomes assessment will be illustrated with an example drawn from responses to 50 items that constitute the Patient Satisfaction with Medical Care Questionnaire (developed by RAND for the Health Outcomes Study). Respondents had chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, depression, and heart disease. This application highlights the critical role of IRT modeling in four areas: (1) selecting the best IRT model based on the characteristics of the data; (2) developing an instrument to match the population of interest for the study; (3) linking two or more instruments measuring similar constructs on a common metric or scale; and (4) creating item banks that provide the foundation for short fixed-form and computer adaptively administered instruments. The overall goal of the presentation is to highlight recent advances in measurement theory that can help researchers to develop assessment instruments that meet the criteria for validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change in health status, while minimizing the burden of long questionnaires for respondents.
Selected Publications:
Hambleton, R. K."Applications of item response theory to improve health outcomes assessment: developing item banks, linking instruments, and computer-adaptive testing" In J. Lipscomb, C.C. Gotay, & C. Snyder (eds.). (2005) Outcomes Assessment in Cancer. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hambleton, Ronald K., Spielberger, Charles Donald & Merenda, Peter Francis (2004). Adapting Educational and Psychological Tests for Cross-Cultural Assessment: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hambleton, R. K., & Jones, R.W. (1993). "Comparison of classical test theory and item response theory and their applications to test development." Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12(3), 38-47.
Hambleton, R. K., Swaminathan, H., & Rogers, H. J. (1991). Fundamentals of item response theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
