Rasch analysis programs are in transition from the inflexible mainframe to the flexible personal computer. Many of us are caught in the middle. Our Rasch software acts as though input comes from punched cards and output goes to line printers, ignoring the contemporary environment of word processing, database management and spreadsheet software. Windows provides a solution for PC-Compatibles.
Most Rasch software (RS) does not support the composition of program control files or the editing of output files. Programs like Word or WordPerfect are preferred because of their search/replace and block copy/move features. Users compose or edit control files and data files in the word processor, exit to DOS, run RS, restart the word processor, view, edit, print output, prepare another analysis, return to DOS, run RS again, etc. When data originates from a spreadsheet program like Lotus, or a database management program like Foxpro, or is downloaded from a remote computer, the number of programs users must enter and exit increases.
Windows ends all that time-consuming program start up and exiting. All programs needed can be started and left resident in memory. To move from program to program, all you do is press Alt-Tab. Every time the Tab key is pressed when the Alt key is held down, a light bar at the top of the screen (or a gray box in the middle of the screen, if you're in Windows' Program Manager) registers the name of each available program in turn. Releasing the keys when the name of the program you want appears makes that program active. Another Windows option for switching between applications is to set up hot keys that cause a jump from one application to another.
When there are thousands of person records involved in database manipulations, statistical analyses, or RS runs, even fairly fast computers, like a 386/387, take time to complete analyses. There is a leap in productivity when you can switch to other programs, leaving the time-consuming programs number-crunching in the background.
Once I start Windows, along with the programs I want to use, I hit Alt-F to go to Foxpro, where I compose an ASCII data file for BIGSTEPS analysis from my 10,000 patient database. Then I hit Alt-W to go to WordPerfect to edit my control file or the data. That done, I hit Alt-B to go to a DOS window, and execute BIGSTEPS. While BIGSTEPS is working on this analysis, Alt-W takes me back to WordPerfect, where I edit or print output from a prior analysis. Edited output, such as a person measure file, can be read into SPSS (Alt-S) or SYSTAT (Alt-Y) for statistical analysis and also back into Foxpro (Alt-F) to update a database.
A Windows set-up like mine requires 8MB of RAM, 200MB of disk space, and reasonable time-slice settings. For my basic setup, with Windows' Clock and File Manager, SPSS, BIGRAM (a 640K DOS window for running BIGSTEPS and SYSTAT), WordPerfect, Foxpro, and a small RAM DOS window for simple file manipulations, I have Windows' time-slice set at 5000,250 (foreground,background). WordPerfect's is about the same, but, because I run a lot of time-consuming analyses in BIGRAM, Foxpro, and SPSS, their time-slices are 5000,5000 - they have equal proportions of CPU time no matter if they are running foreground or background. If this seems complex, contact me for detailed instructions.
The next step is a Windows-based query system for setting up control files, running Rasch software, and editing/printing output. Drop me a line if you've developed one or want to collaborate with me on one.
------------------------------------ Window Hot Key Time Slice ------------------------------------ Windows 5000,250 File manager Clock Foxpro Alt-F 5000,5000 WordPerfect Alt-W 5000,250 BIGRAM 5000,5000 BIGSTEPS Alt-B SYSTAT Alt-Y SPSS Alt-S 5000,5000 SMALLRAM 5000,250 Utilities Alt-U ------------------------------------
Available Rasch software is listed at www.rasch.org/software.htm.
DOS Rasch Analysis with Windows, W Fisher Jr. Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1992, 6:2 p. 224
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