The Theory and Practice of Item Response Theory (Methodology in the Social Sciences)

Praise for The Theory and Practice of Item Response Theory (Methodology in the Social Sciences)

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"The main strength of the text is in the descriptions and elaborations of the common IRT models....De Ayala also covers fundamental relationships that exist between models, such as the relationships between the parameters of the nominal response model and the partial credit model. In addition, the chapters contain practical advice for sample sizes commonly used with each model and how to interpret the parameters. De Ayala also presents results as statistical indices and graphics for various examples across different contexts, which allows readers the ability to see how the models work from several different perspectives....Does a good job of introducing common estimation strategies employed in IRT software packages. Especially helpful are the illustrations de Ayala includes with the code from IRT software packages."
— Psychometrika

"A must read for practitioners who use item response theory to calibrate test data. It also would serve as a tremendous resource for measurement researchers who daily navigate the circuitous paths of various IRT estimation software programs to analyze and understand their assessment data....Each of the 12 chapters is packed with annotated examples of how to use IRT estimation software and the subsequent output....The author does an excellent job of supplementing explanations of various models with calibration examples and output of multiple data sets using several different IRT calibration software programs including BILOG, MULTILOG, BIGSTEPS, and NOHARM....The book is more practitioner-oriented and applied than previous classic books that provide foundational understanding of IRT models and applications....Would be an excellent text for a graduate level IRT class in which the goal of the course would be to review dichotomous, polytomous, and multidimensional IRT models an how to estimate parameters in the various models using a variety of commercially available software....I would encourage all testing practitioners who work with various IRT models, as well as graduate students who plan to go into the measurement field, to seriously consider this book. It is an excellent resource book and one that provides the reader with insight into the rationale and application of the different IRT models. I applaud Dr. de Ayala for all the time and effort he has put into this book. He has clearly done the measurement field a great service."
— Journal of Educational Measurement