Quality of Life Research
Volume 16, Supplement 1, 109-119, DOI: 10.1007/s11136-007-9169-5

Original Paper

Methodological issues for building item banks and computerized adaptive scales

David Thissen, Bryce B. Reeve, Jakob Bue Bjorner and Chih-Hung Chang

From the issue entitled "Applying Item Response Theory to Enhance Health Outcomes Assessment"

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Abstract

This paper reviews important methodological considerations for developing item banks and computerized adaptive scales (commonly called computerized adaptive tests in the educational measurement literature, yielding the acronym CAT), including issues of the reference population, dimensionality, dichotomous versus polytomous response scales, differential item functioning (DIF) and conditional scoring, mode effects, the impact of local dependence, and innovative approaches to assessment using CATs in health outcomes research.

Keywords  Item bank - Computerized adaptive scale - Computerized adaptive test - Item response theory - Dimensionality assessment - Differential item functioning - Local dependence

Thanks to David J. Weiss for extremely useful comments on an earlier draft. Any errors that remain are, of course, our own.

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