Differential Items Research Articles

Perceptions of students about augmented reality as a didactic resource of náhuat linguistic heritage: a case study with a control and experimental group

This article presents the results of a study on the impact of incorporating an augmented reality textbook and android mobile applications on the teaching-learning process of the náhuat language in public schools in El Salvador. To verify the first hypothesis, statistical inference was applied to determine the significance of the mark values between the control and experimental groups through the Mann-Whitney test and Brunner–Munzel’s test, previous verification of parametric assumptions of these tests, in total participated 150 students. To verify the second hypothesis, the results of student perception corresponding to the usage of the resources aforementioned, are also shown, administering questionnaire surveys to 113 students in total, through two questionnaires scored on a 5-point Likert scale statements and semantic differential scale items for additional data collection related to each Likert scale statement in the questionnaire. The results show that students perceive specific advantages linked to the usage of the náhuat augmented reality textbook and mobile android applications in the náhuat language teaching-learning process. This study leads to the conclusion that students enrolled in náhuat courses in public schools in El Salvador for this case study, greatly value the teaching-learning process mediated by augmented reality technology and mobile applications.

대학전공선택검사의 성차에 의한 차별기능문항 탐색

Objectives Paying attention to the phenomenon of a gender gap in the choice of a major in the engineering de-partment, this study set out to examine whether there was differential item functioning by gender and what caused it by analyzing the items related to engineering in the Korean College Major Interest Inventory, 2nd Edition(KCMII-2).
 Methods For this purpose, the study used the data of 9,069 respondents who answered the activity preference items and the data of 9,040 respondents who answered the vocational preference items in the engineering sec-tion of the inventory in its analysis before checking if the data met the normal distribution and unidimensionality assumption requirements. Differential item functioning was extracted with the ‘lordif’ package of R and the PARSCALE program. The items whose differential function was found both in the programs were chosen as the final differential item functioning.
 Results The results of testing the assumption of unidimensionality suggested the possibility of other dimensions of latent trait beyond activity and career preferences. Subsequent analysis conducted through differential item functioning analysis revealed that nine out of the 30 activity preference items and seven out of the 30 vocational preference items were extracted as differential item functioning. All these items except for one activity preference item were favorable to female students. The activity preference items whose differential function included majors in life science and biotechnology, computer software, environmental studies and energy, and chemistry and chemical engineering. In terms of career preference, the differential functioning items encompassed majors in life science and biotechnology, chemistry and chemical engineering, and environmental studies and energy.
 Conclusions The study then inferred the causes of the differential item function extracted based on the findings and discussed the future direction of career education to help high school students overcome the gender gap in the choice of an engineering career and make a reasonable and sustainable career and occupation choice.

Impact of the Type and percentage of Differential Items Functioning on the ability parameter of individuals According to Parametric and Non-parametric Models of IRT

Impact of the Type and percentage of Differential Items Functioning on the ability parameter of individuals According to Parametric and Non-parametric Models of IRT

Assessing the attitudes of students toward school subjects with the semantic differential and interactive visual

This study aims to provide preliminary evidence of the concurrent and structural validity of a novel instrument to measure students’ attitudes toward school subjects. This new tool uses interactive software and measures attitudes less directly by asking students to change different visual features of objects displayed in a virtual three­ ­dimensional space, thereby expressing their attitudes metaphorically (popularity/liking through size, importance through size, difficulty through weight, and relationship with a teacher through temperature). The results of this novel method were compared and related to the semantic differential, an already established instrument that is frequently used in the context of school evaluation and focuses on connotative meanings. The study was carried out on a sample of 147 Czech primary school students who rated three school subjects: Czech, English, and mathematics. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the measurement structure of both instruments and the relationship between them. The results showed that a single dominant factor (popularity/liking) can explain the majority of the variance shared between items. However, residual correlations suggested that two other factors are at play, namely importance (measured by the visual metaphor of size) and difficulty (measured by the visual metaphor of weight). The results did not support a three­‑factor structure of the semantic differential, which is proposed by the theory of the instrument, since only two semantic differential items appeared to measure something different from popularity/liking. Furthermore, the visual metaphor of distance was the best indicator of popularity/liking, and although other metaphors related to popularity/liking as well, they showed discriminant validity in relation to other metaphors, as evidenced by their pattern of residual correlations with the semantic differential items. In summary, the results support the concurrent validity of the novel instrument utilizing interactive metaphors and also the discriminant validity of individual metaphors but question the proposed factorial structure of the semantic differential.

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Pollen grains of the five cultivated species of Pinus L., 1753 from Subsect. Pinaster (Order Pinales, Family Pinaceae) were collected from the Orman Botanic Gardens at Giza in addition to the herbarium specimens. They were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy to detect the taxonomic value of their pollen characteristics. The pollen grains were bisaccate. An artificial key constructed according to the morphology of pollen grains recognizes the five species that belong to Pinus: P. pinea Linnaeus, 1753; P. canariensis Smith, 1828; P. halepensis Miller, 1768; P. roxburghii Sargent, 1897; and P. brutia Tenore, 1811. The differential items included the presence or absence of apertures, e.g. the monosulcate colpus that presents in P. pinea and P. brutia; pollen shape without sacci that could be perprolate as in P. pinea or prolate as in the remaining species; pollen shape (outlined with sacci) in polar view that could be haploxylonoid as in P. pinea and P. roxburghii or diploxylonoid as in the remaining species; in addition to cappa and sacci exine sculpture. A dendrogram from the Community Analysis Package statistical program for data analysis supported the separation of five species of Pinus in Egypt and showed that P. canariensis and P. halepensis were closely related, as well as P. brutia and P. roxburghii. The cluster separated P. pinea into a separate group, but it was more closely related to P. canariensis and P. halepensis. The cluster tree was illustrated, visualized, and confirmed by a heat map based on the R programming language for effective manipulation of the data.

Identification of intestinal microbiome associated with lymph-vascular invasion in colorectal cancer patients and predictive label construction.

To identify differences between the composition, abundance, and biological function of the intestinal microbiome of patients with and without lymph-vascular invasion (LVI) colorectal cancer (CRC) and to construct predictive labels to support accurate assessment of LVI in CRC. 134 CRC patients were included, which were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of LVI, and their intestinal microbiomes were sequenced by 16SrRNA and analyzed for differences. The transcriptome sequencing data of 9 CRC patients were transformed into immune cells abundance matrix by CIBERSORT algorithm, and the correlation among LVI-associated differential intestinal microbiomes, immune cells, immune-related genes and LVI-associated differential GO items and KEGG pathways were analyzed. A random forest (RF) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) model were constructed to predict the LVI of CRC patients based on the differential microbiome. There was no significant difference in α-diversity and β-diversity of intestinal microbiome between CRC patients with and without LVI (P > 0.05). Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis showed 34 intestinal microbiomes enriched in CRC patients of the LVI group and 5 intestinal microbiomes were significantly enriched in CRC patients of the non-lymph-vascular invasion (NLVI) group. The RF and XGB prediction models constructed with the top 15% of the LVI-associated differential intestinal microbiomes ranked by feature significance had good efficacy. There are 39 intestinal flora with significantly different species abundance between the LVI and NLVI groups. g:Alistipes.s:Alistipes_indistinctus is closely associated with colorectal cancer vascular invasion. LVI-associated differential intestinal flora may be involved in regulating the infiltration of immune cells in CRC and influencing the expression of immune-related genes. LVI-associated differential intestinal flora may influence the process of vascular invasion in CRC through a number of potential biological functions. RF prediction models and XGB prediction models constructed based on microbial markers of gut flora can be used to predict CRC-LVI conditions.

Comparing Malaysian secondary school teachers’ and students’ values in mathematics learning: a mixed method study

Teachers’ and students’ values influenced the teaching and learning process in the mathematics classroom. Few studies were conducted to compare teachers’ and students’ value in mathematics learning. This paper explores Malaysian mathematics teachers’ and students’ values in mathematics learning. Fifty-three mathematics teachers and 354 secondary school students participated in the online survey. This study reports ten semantic differential items and an open-ended question related to mathematics learning. An independent t-test was conducted on the semantic differential items. Thematic coding analysis was performed to code the open-ended questions based on the framework of three intersecting values: mathematical values (the discipline), mathematics educational values (the pedagogy), and general educational values (the ethical and moral principles). The findings showed significant mean differences in mathematics educational values between teachers and students. No significant difference was found in mathematical values between teachers and students. Moreover, the qualitative data confirmed the similarities in mathematical values and differences in mathematics educational values between teachers and students. The current study also discusses possible reasons for the differences in teachers’ and students’ values. The findings imply that teachers’ and students’ values are crucial in enhancing teaching and learning in the mathematics classroom.

Do attitude functions and perceiver demographics predict attitudes towards asexuality?

ABSTRACT Research indicates asexual individuals experience stigma. Addressing this phenomenon, this study examined attitude functions – experiential, social-expressive, ego-defensive, and value-expressive – in the prediction of attitudes towards asexuality. As well, demographic variables – participant gender, religiosity, and sexual orientation – were examined vis-à-vis asexuality attitudes. Herek’s Function of Attitudes Inventory assessed asexual attitude functions. General attitudes were assessed using the Attitude towards Asexuality scale, feeling thermometers, and semantic differential scales. Participants were asked to imagine developing a relationship with an asexual person; attitudes towards the asexual target were assessed by belief statements specific to the person, a feeling thermometer, and target-specific semantic differential items. On average, all asexuality attitudes measures were rated favourably. Men, religious individuals, and exclusively heterosexual participants were generally less positive in their asexual attitudes. While statistically significant, these demographic differences were quite weak. Participants generally denied the attitude functions as the basis for their asexuality attitudes. The ego-defensive attitude function was strongly predictive of all asexual attitudes measures. The value-expressive function was a significant but small multiple regression predictor of some asexual attitudes. Understanding attitudes towards asexuality would be advanced by further consideration of how the attitude serves the social perceiver.

Missing Data, Statistical Power of Likelihood-Ratio Test and Differential Item Functioning in NECO Mathematics Examination in Nigeria

The study examined the percentage of missing data by persons and items, and the effect of missing data on statistical power of likelihood-ratio test across differential item functioning magnitude The study adopted the ex-post facto research design. The population consisted of 1,034,629 candidates that sat for the June/July 2017 NECO mathematics examination. The study sample comprised all the 194,009 students that sat for the examination in the six Southwestern states of Nigeria. Data collected was analysed using frequency count, percentage, Likelihood-ratio Test and Multiple Imputation Chained Equation and T-test respectively. Results showed that 42.2% of examinees had one or more missing responses and that all the items of the 2017 SSCE Mathematics test attracted missing responses. The result also showed that 56 of the 60 items of the NECO Mathematics functioned differentially with respect to gender and that 55 of the 56 items displaying DIF flagged non-uniform DIF. Furthermore, results showed that likelihood ratio DIF test method identifies more differential functioning items when missing responses of examinees were replaced with Multiple Imputation Chain Equation and that there is no significant difference in the power of loglikelihood ratio test in detecting DIF items under traditional method of imputing missing data and the mice method. The study concluded that missing data had no significant influence on the statistical power of likelihood-ratio test for detecting differential item functioning in mathematics examination

Psychometric Analysis of an Instrument Evaluating Students’ Acceptance of Online Platform to Support Online English Learning

Acceptance of technology takes as a crucial role in context of the technology adoption. Before encouraging the maximal use of technology, it is important that users have to first acknowledge its use and that they have to also accept it. The current study was proposed in aims to examine the validity and the reliability of the Indonesian version of instrument investigating TAM constructs such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and behavioural intention. The questionnaire was adopted to elaborate the undergraduate students’ technology acceptance of WhatsApp, Google Classroom, and Microsoft Teams as online platform to support online English learning based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected from 370 undergraduate students from different universities in Indonesia and the study applied Rasch analysis technique to address the Rasch assumptions such as items dimensionality, person and item reliability, person and item mapping, rating scale, and differential items functioning measure. The findings of the study suggested that the adopted and translated to Indonesian questionnaire was found to be sufficient in context of psychometric characteristics and was considered eligible to measure the technology acceptance of online platforms used for English online learning.

Listeners’ Attitudes Towards Young Women With Glottal Fry

Glottal fry is an increasingly prevalent voice type in young female speakers. The purpose of this study was to identify employers' perceptions toward young female speakers presenting with glottal fry and the impact on hirability. Sixty employers responsible for hiring at their business in the Southeast region of the United States completed a survey developed to capture employers' perceptions toward young women using glottal fry. Employers listened to three voice samples of young women with varying levels of glottal fry and rated the voice on 14 semantic differential items. The semantic differential items were derived from the hiring constructs literature to capture perceptions related to mental capability, personality tendencies, and applied social skills. Additionally, questions related to hirability were captured at the end of the survey. Employers were able to identify continuous glottal fry compared to nonglottal fry voice samples. Employers rated voice samples with glottal fry more negatively (eg, less trustworthy, less competent, less educated) compared to nonglottal fry voice samples and were less likely to hire female speakers with continuous glottal fry. This study highlights the impact of negative perceptions toward glottal fry on hirability of young female speakers. Such information can provide insight to increase awareness of the impact of a voice type on listener perceptions and communication among young female speakers.

Some thoughts on analytical choices in the scaling model for test scores in international large-scale assessment studies

International large-scale assessments (LSAs), such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), provide essential information about the distribution of student proficiencies across a wide range of countries. The repeated assessments of the distributions of these cognitive domains offer policymakers important information for evaluating educational reforms and received considerable attention from the media. Furthermore, the analytical strategies employed in LSAs often define methodological standards for applied researchers in the field. Hence, it is vital to critically reflect on the conceptual foundations of analytical choices in LSA studies. This article discusses the methodological challenges in selecting and specifying the scaling model used to obtain proficiency estimates from the individual student responses in LSA studies. We distinguish design-based inference from model-based inference. It is argued that for the official reporting of LSA results, design-based inference should be preferred because it allows for a clear definition of the target of inference (e.g., country mean achievement) and is less sensitive to specific modeling assumptions. More specifically, we discuss five analytical choices in the specification of the scaling model: (1) specification of the functional form of item response functions, (2) the treatment of local dependencies and multidimensionality, (3) the consideration of test-taking behavior for estimating student ability, and the role of country differential items functioning (DIF) for (4) cross-country comparisons and (5) trend estimation. This article’s primary goal is to stimulate discussion about recently implemented changes and suggested refinements of the scaling models in LSA studies.

Gender differential item functioning on the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills instrument using logistic regression

The item differential function (DIF) describes a situation in which testees of similar ability but from different demographic groups have varying chances of achieving the same result. This study aims to identify the function of uniform and non-uniform differential items on the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills Instrument using logistic regression techniques and determine the impact of DHF on construct validity. This study uses a survey method with a quantitative approach. The study involved 602 people, divided into two groups based on gender: 301 women and 301 men. The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) is a 39-item online questionnaire that measures mindfulness. KIMS has been proven to meet content, construct, and factor validity and has good test-retest reliability and internal consistency estimators. This study uses Regression Logistics to detect DIF, analyzed with R Studio 4.1.3 software. Research results found 17 DIF items detected using logistic regression, 13 uniform DIF items, and four non-uniform DIF. Through CFA, we have succeeded in proving that DIF-free items are proven to have better construct validity. The implications of this study are expected to inspire counseling psychologists to be more careful in using rating scales or instruments. The validity and reliability of the measures are not strong enough to justify that all measuring instruments are correct. However, it is also necessary to check for item bias or functional differential items to ensure that each item on the scale or instrument is understandable to all demographic groups and does not benefit only certain demographic groups.

Towards standardization of fatigue measurement: Psychometric properties and reference values of the PROMIS Fatigue item bank in the Dutch general population

Background There is little consensus on how to measure fatigue. Objectives To standardize the measurement of fatigue across populations, we aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the PROMIS Fatigue item bank in the Dutch general population and obtain reference values. Methods A sample of 1006 people participating in an internet panel completed the full v1.0 PROMIS Fatigue item bank (95 items). Structural validity (item response theory (IRT) assumptions and IRT model fit), measurement invariance/cross-cultural validity (absence of differential items functioning (DIF) for demographic variables and language, compared to data from US participants in PROMIS wave 1), and (internal) reliability (percentage of respondents with reliable estimates) were assessed. Results The IRT model assumptions were considered met (ECV 0.86, Omega-H 0.92), all items fitted the IRT model, no items showed DIF for demographic variables and seven for language, but with negligible impact on T-scores. Reliable fatigue T-scores were found for 98.3%, 69.8–82.6%, and 96.5% of the respondents with the full item bank, the standard short forms, and a simulated computerized adaptive test (CAT), respectively. The CAT administered on average only five items. A T-score of 49.1 represented the average score of the Dutch general population, T-scores <55 are considered within normal limits, T-scores of 55–59 indicate mild fatigue, T-scores of 60–70 indicate moderate fatigue, and T-scores >70 indicate severe fatigue. Conclusions The PROMIS Fatigue item bank showed sufficient structural validity, no measurement invariance for demographic characteristics, sufficient cross-cultural validity, and sufficient (internal) reliability in the Dutch general population.

Examining Older Adults' Home Functioning Using the American Housing Survey.

Identifying individuals at risk of experiencing functional difficulty at home would support timely home safety assessment and modification services, which could lead to reducing home incidents such as falls. The objective of this study was to calculate older adults’ functional difficulty at home scores using the 12 physical function items in the American Housing Survey National and Metropolitan Data (AHS). Among the 28,474 older adults selected for this study, we used 19,932 for measurement model development and 8542 for model testing. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed an adequate fit of the one-dimensional model with all AHS 12 items loading on one latent construct (functional difficulty at home) (RMSEA: 0.034, CFI: 0.990, and TLI: 0.988). Based on our model selection process, we determined that the Graded Response Model was an optimal model for our analysis and separated two detected differential functioning items for each sex. Using the testing dataset, we validated that the estimated functional difficulty scores showed an expected item hierarchy and statistically significant differences in their association with housing and demographic conditions (p < 0.001). Our results demonstrated the process of using the 12 AHS physical function at home items to produce validated scores of older adults’ functional difficulty at home.

Validation of an Adapted Version of the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for People with Intellectual Disabilities (GAS-ID).

The objective of the study was to validate adapted versions of the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for people with Intellectual Disabilities (GAS-ID) simultaneously developed in English and French. A sample of 361 youth with mild to moderate intellectual disability (ID) (M = 15.78years) from Australia (English-speaking) and Canada (French-speaking) participated in this study. The results supported the factor validity and reliability, measurement invariance (between English and French versions), a lack of differential items functioning (as a function of youth's age and ID level, but not sex in the English-Australian sample), temporal stability (over one year interval), and convergent validity (with global self-esteem and school loneliness) of a bi-factor exploratory structural equation modeling representation of the GAS-ID. The present study supports the psychometric properties of the English-Australian and French-Canadian versions of the adapted GAS-ID.

USING RASCH MODEL TO UNDERSTAND PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF JUNIOR STUDENTS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR INVENTORY (J-SABI)

The emergence of aggressiveness among students requires attention from various parties, especially schools. The direction of this research is to develop and examine the validity of the Junior Students Aggressive Behavior Inventory (J-SABI), to know the level of suitability and item’s difficulty level, also to know the variable maps of the person’s ability to answer an item’s ability to describe aggressive behavior. The sample of this study consist of 360 with the number of items was 47. The analytical technique that used was Rasch model to examine the reliability, instrument validity, item’s validity, the function of differential items, and the validity of the ranking scale. The result shows that overall inventory which developed was valid and reliable (person reliability consist of 0.89 and item reliability 0.98). The validity of the instrument respondents using variable maps show the Item P15 is a matter of the highest difficulty level (+0.69 logit), which means the probability of all the students to work on this matter right is small. As for the P52 is a matter that almost all students can work properly, logit value is low (-0.80 logit). The value of Andrich Threshold moving from option 1 (none), then to the second choice (logit -0.50), option 3 (-0.30 logit), selection 4 (-0.19), and the option 5 (+1.00 logit), indicates the five choices answer given are valid for respondents

Illness representations and psychological outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a lifelong cancer with subtle symptoms. Treatment is not curative and often involves repeated relapses and retreatments. Illness perceptions - cognitive and emotional representations of illness stimuli - were studied in CLL patients to: 1) identify illness perception 'profiles' prior to treatment; and 2) test whether profile membership predicts psychological responses 12 months later as treatment continued. CLL patients (N = 259), randomized to one of four cancer treatment trials testing targeted therapy, were assessed before starting treatment and at 12 months. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) assessed perceived consequences, timeline, personal/treatment control, identity, comprehension, concern, and emotions toward CLL. Psychological outcomes were depressive symptoms (PHQ-9/BDI-II), negative mood (POMS), and cancer stress (IES-R). Latent profile analysis (LPA) determined number of profiles and differential BIPQ items for each profile. Multilevel models tested profiles as predictors of 12-month psychological outcomes. LPA selected the three-profile model, with profiles revealing Low (n = 150; 57.9%), Moderate (n = 21; 8.1%), and High-impact (n = 88; 34.0%) illness representations. Profiles were defined by differences in consequences, identity, concern, and emotions. Profile membership predicted all psychological outcomes (ps<.038). Low-impact profile patients endorsed minimal psychological symptoms; High-impact profile patients reported substantial symptoms. Results of the first CLL illness representation study provide directions for future clinical efforts. By identifying differences among patients' perceptions of CLL consequences, symptom burden, concerns, and emotional responses, an at-risk patient group might receive tailored psychological treatment. Treatments may address negative perceptions, to reduce psychological risk associated with chronic cancer.

Validation of modified youth experience survey for sport (MYES-S) using multidimensional Rasch model

ABSTRACT Youth sports provides the foundation for successful dynamics and organization within a sports ecosystem. Thus, it is necessary to explore the experiences of youth who either drop out of or persist in a sport. The study’s main goal is to provide empirical evidence of the validity and reliability of the modified Youth Experiences Survey for Sport (MYES-S), which assesses the personal experiences of youths in sports activities using the multidimensional Rasch model. The present study is a first-of-its-kind attempt to introduce a multidimensional Rasch measurement approach into the sports psychology field while still addressing the limitations of the classical test theory approach. A total of 1,199 athletes from ninth through 12th grade participated in the survey. The findings support a six-dimensional model of the MYES-S. The person separation reliability estimates for each dimension were close to the acceptable range. Most student-athletes’ logit scores were above the range of the item endorsibilities except in cognitive skill (CS); thus, more items need to be added to better capture the youth experience in sports. Future research directions include addressing differential functioning items across gender and race groups and having more appropriate response categories. The significance of this study lies in its potential to contribute to the investigation and the calibration of the MYES-S to provide practical and meaningful guidance to sports psychology researchers and practitioners vis-à-vis the understanding of the youth sports experience.

Detection of the effect of the Percentage of Items with DIF on the strength and efficacy of the singular characteristic curve test in the three-parameter model: الكشف عن أثر نسبة المفردات ذات الأداء التفاضلي على قوة وفاعلية اختبار منحنى خصائص المفردة في النموذج ثلاثي المعلم

The current research is following the simulation studies in IRT to experiment with the effect and power of the ICC's method on DIF items. To achieve the experiment, data were generated for three tests consisting of 100 items to each one containing (10% -20%-30%) items with DIF. These three tests were applied through the simulation program to 3000 individuals with normal abilities are distributed in average (0) and standard deviation (1). The results of the study indicated the effectiveness of the ICC's test by using the Rajo equation (1988), which measuring the area below the curve between the Reference groups and the Focal groups in detection items of (10% -20% -30%) amount of DIF and counting them in each of the three tests. The results showed that the strength of the test was (0, 619) for the DIF of 10% and the test strength of the DIF of 20% is amount (0.703) and the strength of the test was (0786) for the DIF of 30%, all of Power Values are higher than the average rating by Cohen, D test to derive the size of the impact. And we recommend taking the results in instruments containing differential items.