Computational aspects of psychometrics taught with R and Shiny

Abstrakt

ZÁKLADNÍ ÚDAJE: Computational aspects of psychometrics taught with R and Shiny. [useR! 2021. Zürich / virtual, 05.07.2021-09.07.2021]. ABSTRAKT: Psychometrics deals with advancement of quantitative measurement practices in psychology, education, health, and many other fields. It covers number of statistical methods that are useful for the behavioral and social sciences. Among other topics, it includes the estimation of reliability to deal with the omnipresence of measurement error, as well as a more detailed description of item functioning encompassed in item response theory models. In this talk, I will discuss some computational aspects of psychometrics, and how understanding these aspects may be supported by real and simulated datasets, interactive examples, and hands on methods. First, I will first focus on the reliability estimation and the issue of restricted range, showing that zero may not always be zero. Then I will focus on a deeper understanding of the context behind more complex models and their much simpler counterparts. The last example discusses group-specific models and importance of item-level analysis for situations where differences in overall gains are not apparent but the differences in item gains may be. Finally, I will discuss experiences from teaching computational aspects of psychometrics to a diverse group of students from various fields, including statistics, computer science, psychology, education, and medicine, and participants from the industry. I will discuss the challenges and joys of creating a truly interdisciplinary course.