Rasch Applications in Clinical Assessment, Survey Research, and Educational Measurement
Dr. William Fisher, Jr.Aim of Course:
Rasch measurement focuses on the calibration of instruments providing linear measures from scored observations, such as responses to multiple-choice educational examinations, survey Likert scales and clinically assigned assessments. This course covers the practical aspects of construct conceptualization, theory development, and instrument or item bank design, pilot testing, and calibration, relative to the different demands of four primary reasons for measuring (screening, diagnosis, research, accountability). The overarching value of equating and adaptively administering instruments is addressed. Supporting theory (meaningfulness, reliability, validity) is presented conceptually. Participants are encouraged to analyze their own datasets in parallel to the course datasets.This course is intended as a practical applications follow-on to "Rasch Measurement: Core Topics" (and, if desired, other Rasch courses). Its format is an online seminar, in which students review selected readings and offer critique of assessment instruments.
Who Should Take This Course:
Survey researchers and social scientists who use surveys or questionnaires in their work, education assessment analysts and managers.For those enrolled in a Program of Advanced Statistical Studies, this is a required or elective course in the following Programs:
- Statistics for Social Sciences - elective
Course Program:
The course is structured as followsNote: This course follows a seminar format, and you will need to do the exercises to get the most out of it.
SESSION 1: Basic concepts and operations
- Introduction to measurement theory
- Basic measurement concepts
- Integrating qualitative meaningfulness with quantitative rigor
- Determining what you want to measure and why
- The value of construct maps
SESSION 2: Instrument Design
- A comprehensive instrument design science
- Building reliability and precision into the instrument from the start
- Reliability: Internal consistency or reproducible precision?
- Annotating the construct map as the frame of reference
SESSION 3: Theory, Instrument, and Data (Using Rasch software)
- Evidence-based, theory-driven, and instrumentally-mediated decision making
- The role of pilot data in evaluating the instrument and improving the theory
- The role of theory in interpreting the data and (re)writing the instrument
- The role of the instrument in structuring the data and embodying the theory
SESSION 4: Practical use of the map in navigating the terrain: Linking, equating, and adaptive administration
- Choosing a metric
- Anchoring the calibrations
- Self-scoring forms
- Interpreting the measures in practice
- Collective cognition and the progress of science
The Instructor:
Dr. William Fisher, Jr. holds doctorate and masters degrees from the University of Chicago, where he was a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow. His previous positions include Chief Science Officer with Avatar International in Orlando, Florida, and Professor of Research at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. He serves on the editorial boards of Quality of Life Research and the Journal of Applied Measurement, reviews papers for a number of other journals, and lectures nationally and internationally on topics in instrument calibration, measurement theory and practice, and the history and philosophy of science. His most recent paper appears in Measurement (Elsevier). Over the last 25 years, he has contributed his measurement expertise to collaborations with colleagues across a number of areas in health care, education, business management, and economics.Organization of the Course:
The course takes place over the internet, at statistics.com. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing - there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor. The course is scheduled to take place over 4 weeks, and typically requires 15 hours per week.This course follows a seminar format that is slightly different from that of other statistics.com courses. Students review selected readings, then offer critiques of assessment instruments. Participation in the critique process is an essential part of the course.
At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials and work through exercises. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments.
Certificates and Grades:
You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with grades or certificates. Or you may be enrolled in a statistics.com Program in Advanced Statistical Studies that requires demonstration of proficiency in the subject, in which case your work will be assessed for purposes of issuing a grade. Or you may require only a "Certificate of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's). As you begin the class, you will be asked to specify your category.Credit:
This course offers continuing education units (CEU's). For those successfully completing the course (generally this means marks of 50% or better on the homework), 5.0 CEU's and a certificate will be issued by statistics.com, upon request.Dates:
Sep. 17 - Oct. 15, 2010Click here to be notified of future course offerings.
Participants gain access to the online materials on the first day of the course, and typically spend about 15 hours per week (at their convenience). You retain full access to course materials, including discussion board, for two weeks after the course closing date.
Level:
IntermediatePrerequisite:
Participants should have a good grasp of (and comfort with) the material covered in Practical Rasch Measurement: Core Topics. This includes the Rasch rating scale model and fit statistics, the normal distribution, t-tests and significance (based on group means and standard errors), and the chi-square distribution. An understanding of logarithms is also required, as is the ability to manipulate an Excel spreadsheet. Additionally, the equivalent of Introduction to Statistics 1: Inference for a Single Variable, and Introduction to Statistics 2: Working with Bivariate Data (and, if necessary before these courses, Introduction to Statistics for Beginners or Survey of Statistics for Beginners) is required.Course Text:
All necessary study material is provided online by the instructor. Helpful additional study material can be found in the book Applying the Rasch Model, 2nd edition (Bond & Fox, 2007, Taylor & Francis/Lawrence Erlbaum Associates). The text can be ordered here.Software:
The course will use a time-limited version of Winsteps software available when the course starts. Microsoft Excel is used in one exercise.Registration:
Register Online - $469Register Online (academic) - $399 (you must be affiliated with a college, university or high school)
Add $50 service fee if you require a prior invoice, or if you need to submit a purchase order or voucher, pay by wire transfer or EFT, or refund and reprocess a prior payment. Please use this printed registration form, for these and other special orders.
Note: Courses may fill up at any time and registrations are processed in the order in which they are received. Your registration will be confirmed for the first available course date, unless you specify otherwise.
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