"All human observation is a mushy matter of opinion, except in so far as cogent argument constrains that opinion. To understand measurement and error is to be freed from superstitions.
"The first thing we should observe is that theory and measurement are more intimately related than is often thought. Theory, untestable and irrefutable theory, pervades even the most elementary forms of direct measurement. More importantly, the most sophisticated theoretical structures can be regarded as frameworks for systematic measurement. The lesson to be learned from this, particularly in the mental and social sciences, is that, however cleverly, we measure something, however reliable the test or reproducible the measurement, without a theoretical framework into which that quantity enters, it is useless. One can devise reproducible measures of quantities without end - but without a theoretical structure we have only a relatively useless oddity. I say `relatively' because even such measures do have their uses in communication; even without much theory, intelligence tests are handy for locating students in the spectrum of brightness, and passing that information along.
"A corollary to this is that the development of measures and the testing of theories is often approached in the wrong order. Because we have been told so often that we should let the data speak for themselves, that we should avoid preconceptions, and that we should also provide rigorous quantitative tests of our hypotheses, we may be tempted to put the cart before the horse. We may think that we must develop good solid operational measuring instruments, whose application exhibits high interpersonal uniformity, before we can give our imaginations rein to develop hypotheses and theories for subsequent testing. The development of measures for quantities - indeed, the development of quantities themselves - must go hand in hand with the development of the theoretical structures in which those qunatities play a role. It is the whole system of theory and quantity that allows us to augment the predictive observational content of our bodies of knowledge."
These insights come from Henry E. Kyburg Jr. in Theory and Measurement (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984). Though unaware of Rasch measurement, he addresses the issues which concern us - sometimes mathematically, sometimes philosophically and sometimes anecdotally. There are gems of wisdom strewn throughout this book.
Kyburg on Mush … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1991, 5:1 p. 132
| Rasch Publications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rasch Measurement Transactions (free, online) | Rasch Measurement research papers (free, online) | Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, Georg Rasch |
| Applying the Rasch Model 2nd. Ed., Bond & Fox | Best Test Design, Wright & Stone | Rating Scale Analysis, Wright & Masters |
| Introduction to Rasch Measurement, E. Smith & R. Smith | Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement, Thomas Eckes | Invariant Measurement: Using Rasch Models in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, George Engelhard, Jr. |
| Statistical Analyses for Language Testers, Rita Green | Rasch Models: Foundations, Recent Developments, and Applications, Fischer & Molenaar | Journal of Applied Measurement |
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| Forum | Rasch Measurement Forum to discuss any Rasch-related topic |
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Go to Institute for Objective Measurement Home Page. The Rasch Measurement SIG (AERA) thanks the Institute for Objective Measurement for inviting the publication of Rasch Measurement Transactions on the Institute's website, www.rasch.org.
| Coming Rasch-related Events | |
|---|---|
| May 15-17, 2013, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| May 20-22, 2013, Mon.-Wed. | In-person workshop: Intermediate Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| May 31 - June 28, 2013, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Core Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com |
| June 7, 2013, Fri. | SPHERE workshop: Response-Shift and subjective measures in health science, Nantes, France, www.sphere-nantes.fr/ |
| June 19-21, 2013, Wed.-Fri. | SIS 2013 Conference on Advances in Latent Variables: Methods, Models and Applications, Brescia, Italy, meetings.sis-statistica.org/index.php/sis2013/ALV |
| July 1 - Nov. 30, 2013, Mon.-Sun. | Online Course: Introduction to Rasch Measurement Theory (D. Andrich, RUMM), uwa.edu.au |
| July 5 - Aug. 2, 2013, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Further Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com |
| Aug.1-5, 2013, Thur.-Mon. | TERA-PROMS Annual Meeting, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, tera.education.nsysu.edu.tw |
| Aug. 9 - Sept. 6, 2013, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (E. Smith, Facets), www.statistics.com |
| Aug. 22, 2013, Thursday. | Symposium in honor of Svend Kreiner, Copenhagen, Denmark, biostat.ku.dk/kreinersymposium |
| Sept. 4-6, 2013, Wed.-Fri. | IMEKO TC1-TC7-TC13 Symposium: Measurement Across Physical and Behavioural Sciences, Genoa, Italy, www.imeko-genoa-2013.it |
| Sept. 13 - Oct. 11, 2013, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Rasch Applications in Clinical Assessment, Survey Research, and Educational Measurement (W.P. Fisher), www.statistics.com |
| Sept. 18-20, 2013, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| Sept. 23-25, 2013, Mon.-Wed. | In-person workshop: Intermediate Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| Sept. 26-27, 2013, Thurs.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Advanced Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| Oct. 18 - Nov. 15, 2013, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Core Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com |
| Oct. 20 - Oct. 25, 2013, Sun.-Fri. | International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) 39th Annual Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel, www.iaea-2013.com |
| Dec. 11-13, 2013, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| March 12-14, 2014, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| May 14-16, 2014, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| May 19-21, 2013, Mon.-Wed. | In-person workshop: Intermediate Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| July 4 - Aug. 1, 2014, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Further Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com |
| Aug. 8 - Sept. 5, 2014, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (E. Smith, Facets), www.statistics.com |
| Sept. 10-12, 2014, Wed.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Introductory Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| Sept. 12 - Oct. 10, 2014, Fri.-Fri. | On-line workshop: Rasch Applications in Clinical Assessment, Survey Research, and Educational Measurement (W.P. Fisher), www.statistics.com |
| Sept. 15-17, 2014, Mon.-Wed. | In-person workshop: Intermediate Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
| Sept. 18-19, 2014, Thurs.-Fri. | In-person workshop: Advanced Rasch (A. Tennant, RUMM), Leeds, UK, www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/rehabmed/psychometric |
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