Rasch Measurement as a Communication System

Information communication may appear trivial: just "do it." But the development of telephone technology and the use of computers with large databases have motivated theoreticians to investigate how to construct efficient, noise-resistant communication systems.

Communication theory was originally conceived in terms of fixed mechanical and electrical systems. Social science systems, however, can change to improve or degrade communication. They can learn, forget, focus, and become distracted. Leydesdorff (1993) reformulates communication system theory for social science. He conceives communication systems in four "dimensions". The Table is extracted from his work. Equivalent features in Rasch analysis are appended.

Rasch methodology incorporates all the features which Leydesdorff models for a communication system. To omit any of these features is to risk, perhaps guarantee, miscommunication. He also discusses a fifth "dimension" of "evolution" or self-improvement. This is the challenge addressed by artificially intelligent communications systems. In Rasch methodology, the fifth dimension is the analyst's trained intelligence.

John Michael Linacre

L Leydesdorff (1993) The evolution of communication systems. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Bibliometrics, Informetrics and Scientometrics. Berlin, Germany.

Rasch measurement as a communication system. Linacre JM. Rasch Measurement Transactions 1993 7:3 p.309

Rasch measurement as a communication system. Linacre JM. … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1993, 7:3 p.309

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 3rd. 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	Rasch models for measurement, David Andrich	Constructing Measures, Mark Wilson	Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences, Boone, Stave, Yale
in Spanish:	Análisis de Rasch para todos, Agustín Tristán		Mediciones, Posicionamientos y Diagnósticos Competitivos, Juan Ramón Oreja Rodríguez

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