You are here

Differential Item Functioning
Share

Differential Item Functioning

Second Edition


December 2009 | 104 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Differential Item Functioning, Second Edition is a revision of the 1983 title Test Item Bias. In the past 23 years, differential item performance has assumed a level of attention unimagined in the early 1980s. Then, only a few tests and assessment programs attended to "item bias," while doing so is now a mandatory step in any responsible assessment program. Also, technical advances, such as the widespread use of item response theory, have pushed the field of differential performance to levels of technical sophistication far beyond what was practiced years ago.

This new edition presents an up-to-date description of DIF; describes varying procedures for addressing DIF in practical testing contexts; presents useful examples and studies of DIF that readers may employ as a guide in their own DIF work; and briefly describes relevant features of major statistical packages that can be employed in DIF analysis (e.g., SPSS, SAS, M+, Minitab, and Systat).

This text is ideal for the measurement professional or advanced student who deals with educational or psychological assessment. Readers need only have a preliminary background in tests and measurement, including some beginning statistics and elementary algebra, in order to find this volume useful.

 
About the Authors
 
Series Editor's Introduction
 
1. Introduction
 
2. Description of DIF
 
3. Statistical Facets of DIF
 
4. Important Considerations
 
5. History of Test Bias and DIF
 
6. Quick-But-Incomplete Methods
 
7. Mantel-Haenszel Procedure
 
8. Nonparametic Methods
 
9. IRT-Based Methods
 
10. Logistic Regression
 
11. Specialized DIF Procedures
 
12. Future Directions
 
Conclusion
 
References
 
Author Index
 
Subject Index

For instructors

Select a Purchasing Option

SAGE Research Methods is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. SAGE Research Methods links over 175,000 pages of SAGE’s renowned book, journal and reference content with truly advanced search and discovery tools. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. Since SAGE Research Methods focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and more.

With SAGE Research Methods, researchers can explore their chosen method across the depth and breadth of content, expanding or refining their search as needed; read online, print, or email full-text content; utilize suggested related methods and links to related authors from SAGE Research Methods' robust library and unique features; and even share their own collections of content through Methods Lists. SAGE Research Methods contains content from over 720 books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks, the entire “Little Green Book,” and "Little Blue Book” series, two Major Works collating a selection of journal articles, and specially commissioned videos.