The Effects of Small Sample Size on Identifying Polytomous DIF Using the Liu-Agresti Estimator of the Cumulative Common Odds Ratio.

This study is an evaluation of the behavior of the Liu-Agresti estimator of the cumulative common odds ratio when identifying differential item functioning (DIF) with polytomously scored test items using small samples. The Liu-Agresti estimator has been proposed by Penfield and Algina as a promising...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational & Psychological Measurement Vol. 70; no. 6; pp. 914 - 926
Main Authors: Carvajal, Jorge, Skorupski, William P.
Format: Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. December 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: December 2010
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      pub: Sage Publications Inc.
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        508198392
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        atl: The Effects of Small Sample Size on Identifying Polytomous DIF Using the Liu-Agresti Estimator of the Cumulative Common Odds Ratio.
      aug:
        au:
          Carvajal, Jorge
          Skorupski, William P.
      su:
        Psychometrics
        Estimation theory
        Statistical sampling
      sug:
        subj:
          Psychometrics
          Estimation theory
          Statistical sampling
      keyword: Differential item functioning
      ab: This study is an evaluation of the behavior of the Liu-Agresti estimator of the cumulative common odds ratio when identifying differential item functioning (DIF) with polytomously scored test items using small samples. The Liu-Agresti estimator has been proposed by Penfield and Algina as a promising approach for the study of polytomous DIF but no simulation study focusing on small samples has analyzed this estimator regarding effect size, Type I error, and power rates. The article begins with a description of this estimator in the context of polytomous DIF. Then it presents the methods and results for a simulation study in which three factors are manipulated: between-group difference in ability distribution, form of DIF introduced into the polytomous item, and sample size. The results of this study indicate that for samples smaller than 200, very little power was observed for statistical significance testing; however, Type I error rates were close to nominal levels, and the recovery of the log odds ratio as an effect size was relatively unaffected by sample size for high discriminating items. Implications for practice are discussed. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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