Increasing the precision of subscale scores by using out-of-scale information


Kahraman N., Kamata A.

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT, cilt.28, sa.6, ss.407-426, 2004 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 28 Sayı: 6
  • Basım Tarihi: 2004
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/0146621604268736
  • Dergi Adı: APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.407-426
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: subscale scores, item response theory, collateral information
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

In this study, the precision of subscale score estimates was evaluated when out-of-scale information was incorporated. Procedures that incorporated out-of-scale information and only information within a subscale were compared through a series of simulations. It was revealed that more information (i.e., more precision) was always provided for subscale score estimates when out-of-scale information was used. The degree of the information gain depended on the number of out-of-scale items, the magnitude of item discrimination power, and the magnitude of subscale-trait correlation. Also, the accuracy of subscale score estimates was evaluated. Contrary to precision, subscale score estimates were somewhat more biased with out-of-scale information when there were more out-of-scale items and/or when out-of-scale items had high item discrimination power. This tendency was more apparent when the correlation between subscale traits was low. It was concluded that subscale-trait correlation is an important factor to be considered when out-of-scale information is used.