Methods for Detecting and Representing the Item-Position Effect and the Exploration of its Cognitive Sources

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Karl Schweizer
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263893245

The major aim of the proposed research is the advancement of psychological assessment by researching the item-position effect that is biasing measurement in the area of ability testing. For achieving this aim the research proposal suggests the construction of a methodology for the reliable detection and identification of the item-position effect in ability data, the optimization of the representation of the item-position effect in considering disturbances due to ceiling and similarity effects, the extension of the available method for data obtained in non-speeded testing to data obtained in speeded testing. Furthermore, the proposed research shall contribute to the further clarification of the sources of the item-position effect. Accordingly it is to be clarified whether the item-position effect is due to learning and whether there is an interaction with the difficulty-guided arrangement of items. A major part of the research work has to be conducted by means of simulated data. Simulated data enable the control over the general characteristics of data and, therefore, are especially well suited for finding out about the detectability of the item-position effect and about the specificities of the arrangement of items. The investigation of the impact of speeded testing on the item-position effect requires empirical data and also the investigation of the sources of the item-position effect. The investigation of the sources concentrates on the learning hypothesis. Therefore, the data collection must include the application of measures of learning besides ability measures. In the end there should be a revised method that enables the control of the item-position effect and eventually its exploitation as another source of valuable information.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Siegbert Reiß