How to Conduct a Study with Diagnostic Models

Abstract

In recent years there has been a wave of new assessment designs, measurement methods, and frameworks to connect psychometrics with cognitive science due to the need to enhance traditional and new assessments in order to provide more information about the examinees and the quality of the assessment tools. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the use of a set of guidelines developed for CDM retrofitting using data from the 2007 TIMSS test administration as an example. Three research questions for the study are: Is it feasible to use a retrofitting approach using TIMSS data? Does relative model fit improve when using CDMs compared to IRT models? What additional information regarding the examinees’ skills and items are gained from using CDM retrofitting?