Applying Rasch Measurement in Science Education Research

Applying Rasch Measurement in Science Education Research fills a gap in the literature, namely a book that is truly introductory for the field of Rasch measurement. Each chapter walks the reader through a key topic in Rasch measurement that can be immediately used for the analysis of science education data, for the authoring of publications, for presentations, and for the development of grants. Key components of nearly every chapter of the book include: 1) Introduction to Winsteps software. 2) How to interpret analysis results. 3) How to explain analysis results in written text, in tables, and in figures. 4) Common misconceptions of colleagues and paper reviewers. 5) Sample statistical analysis of Rasch data, with sample tables and sample write ups. 6) Sample text/figures/tables for grant proposals, sample text/figures/tables for articles, sample text/figures/tables for talk proposals. 7) Policy Implications. 8) Links to NCME/AERA/APA Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. 9) Hands-on demonstrations to teach the chapter topic (i.e., discrepant events). Chapters are built using a Learning Cycle (Exploration, Concept Introduction, Concept Application) and present topics that would be of most immediate interest to science educators to assist in their analysis problems, publish, and obtain funded research grants. The text is authored in such a manner that it can be easily used by researchers throughout the world.