\(^1\) University of Trento, Rovereto (IT), \(^2\) Psicostat, Padova (IT) \(^3\) University of Padova, Padova (IT)
Many items \(\rightarrow\) good measurement precision, great reliability and so on
Not always!
People might get tired & frustrated
\[Q \subset B\]
Item Response Theory models for the win
Being focused on the item information and on the ability of each item to measure different levels of the latent trait, IRT models provide an ideal framework for developing STF (and not torturing people)
Automated test assembly and maxmin algorithms
AIM
Size matters: How well can we estimate the latent trait with less and less items?
\[P(x_{pi}= 1| \theta_p, b_i, a_i, c_i, d_i) = c_i + (d_i -c_i) \dfrac{\exp[a_i(\theta_p - b_i)]}{1 + \exp[a_i(\theta_p - b_i)]}\]
\[ \text{IIF}_{i}(\theta) = \dfrac{a_i^2[P(\theta)-c_i]^2[d_i - P(\theta)]^2}{(d_{i}-c_i)^2 P(\theta)Q(\theta)}\]
\[TIF = \sum_{i = 1}^{||B||} IIF_i\] (\(B\): Set of items in a test (\(||X||\) cardinality of set \(X\)))
\(d\) depends on the \(r\) rank of the item presentation during the administration, \(d_r\):
The algorithm
At \(k = 0\): \(\text{TIF}^0(\theta) = 0 \, \forall \theta\), \(Q^0 = \emptyset\).
For \(k \geq 0\),
\(A^k = B \setminus Q^k\)
\(\forall i \in A^k\), \(p\text{TIF}_{i}^k = \frac{\text{TIF}^k + \text{IIF}_{i}}{||Q^k||+1}\), with \(r = \{0, 1, \ldots, ||Q^k||-1\}\)
\(i^* = \arg \min_{i \in A^k} (|\text{TIF}^* - \text{pTIF}_i^k|)\)
Termination criterion: \(|\text{TIF}^* - \text{pTIF}_{i^*}^k| \geq |\text{TIF}_B - \text{TIF}^{k}|\):
FALSE: \(Q^{k+1} = Q^{k} \cup \{i^*\}\), \(\text{TIF}^{k+1} = p\text{TIF}_{i^*}\), iterates 1-4
TRUE: Stop, \(Q_{\text{Léon}} = Q^k\)
\[\text{TIF}^*\] (Target Test Information Function)
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 0\]
\[k = 1\]
\[k = 1\]
\[k = 1\]
\[k = 1\]
1000 respondents with \(\theta \sim \mathcal{U}(-3,3)\)
Item bank \(B\) of 70 items:
\(b \sim \mathcal{U}(-3, 3)\)
\(a \sim \mathcal{U}(.90, 2.0)\)
\(c_i = 0\), \(\forall i \in B\)
\(d_r = \exp(-0.01 r)\), with \(r = \{0, \ldots, ||B|| -1\}\)
\(\text{TIF}^* = \sum_{i = 1}^{||B||} \frac{\text{IIF}_i}{||B||}\), with \(d_i = 1\), \(\forall i \in B\) 🥇
Considering \(TIF^*\), \(B\), and \(d_r\): 100 replications to find \(Q_{\text{Léon}} \subset B\)
Minimum number of items
10%, 25%, 50% of \(||B||\)
Responses are generated for:
Latent trait estimation: Two conditions
Condition \(d\): Accounts for the response fatigue
Condition \(\lnot d\): Does not account for the response fatigue
Tip
Administering less, well chosen items is better than administering all items
Warning
The order of the items selected by Léon cannot be randomized
ottavia.epifania@untin.it
EMPG 2025, Padova