A Note on the Presence of Spurious Pseudo-Guessing Parameters for Three-Parameter Logistic Models in Heterogeneous Populations. (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Raykov, Tenko; Marcoulides, George A.
• Is Part Of: Educational and psychological measurement. Volume 80:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 604
• Page End: 612
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: latent class -- spurious finding -- two-parameter logistic model -- three-parameter logistic model -- unobserved heterogeneity; Educational tests and measurements -- Periodicals; Psychological tests -- Periodicals; 151.205
• DOI: 10.1177/0013164419850882
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-1644

Abstract

This note raises caution that a finding of a marked pseudo-guessing parameter for an item within a three-parameter item response model could be spurious in a population with substantial unobserved heterogeneity. A numerical example is presented wherein each of two classes the two-parameter logistic model is used to generate the data on a multi-item measuring instrument, while the three-parameter logistic model is found to be associated with a considerable pseudo-guessing parameter estimate on an item. The implications of the reported results for empirical educational research are subsequently discussed.