Contemporary Psychometrics

Book excerpt: Contemporary Psychometrics features cutting edge chapters organized in four sections: test theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multivariate analysis. The section on test theory includes topics such as multidimensional item response theory (IRT), the relationship between IRT and factor analysis, estimation and testing of these models, and basic measurement issues that are often neglected. The factor analysis section reviews the history and development of the model, factorial invariance and factor analysis indeterminacy, and Bayesian inference for factor scores and parameter estimates. The section on structural equation modeling (SEM) includes the general algebraic-graphic rules for latent variable SEM, a survey of goodness of fit assessment, SEM resampling methods, a discussion of how to compare correlations between and within independent samples, dynamic factor models based on ARMA time series models, and multi-level factor analysis models for continuous and discrete data. The final section on multivariate analysis includes topics such as dual scaling of ordinal data, model specification and missing data problems in time series models, and a discussion of the themes that run through all multivariate methods. This tour de force through contemporary psychometrics will appeal to advanced students and researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and education, as well as methodologists from other disciplines.