Item Response Theory

Several user-contributed packages can fit IRT models. The packages we use the most is the ltm package by Dimitris Rizopoulos and the MCMCpack packages by Andrew Martin, Kevin Quinn, and Jong Hee Park. The eRm package by Patrick Mair, Reinhold Hatzinger, and Marco Maier also has powerful features. But our experience with eRm is limited at this time. We also rely extensively on the Gibbs sampler approach to fit IRT models, using open-source computer programs such as JAGS and OpenBUGS on the Linux operational system, JAGS on Mac OS, and WinBUGS (not open-source) on the Windows platform. The Gibbs sampler is one of the popular Markov Chain Monte Carlo iterative simulation methods.

[1]  R. Darrell Bock,et al.  Estimating item parameters and latent ability when responses are scored in two or more nominal categories , 1972 .

[2]  C. Benkelfat,et al.  A systematic review of association studies investigating genes coding for serotonin receptors and the serotonin transporter: II. Suicidal behavior , 2003, Molecular Psychiatry.

[3]  Robert J. Mislevy,et al.  How to Equate Tests With Little or No Data , 1993 .

[4]  H. Tanabe,et al.  The human serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) shows ten novel allelic variants , 2000, Molecular Psychiatry.

[5]  Steven P. Hamilton,et al.  Sequence Analysis of the Serotonin Transporter and Associations with Antidepressant Response , 2005, Biological Psychiatry.

[6]  Shirley A. Miller,et al.  A simple salting out procedure for extracting DNA from human nucleated cells. , 1988, Nucleic acids research.

[7]  M. Rietschel,et al.  Measuring depression: comparison and integration of three scales in the GENDEP study , 2007, Psychological Medicine.

[8]  Testing genetic models for multiple symptoms: An application to the genetic analysis of liability to depression , 1987, Behavior genetics.

[9]  M. R. Novick,et al.  Statistical Theories of Mental Test Scores. , 1971 .

[10]  K. Lesch,et al.  Association of Anxiety-Related Traits with a Polymorphism in the Serotonin Transporter Gene Regulatory Region , 1996, Science.

[11]  P. Sullivan,et al.  Familial Clustering of Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders in Australian and Dutch Twins and Siblings , 2005, Twin Research and Human Genetics.

[12]  M. Rutter,et al.  Proceeding From Observed Correlation to Causal Inference: The Use of Natural Experiments , 2007, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[13]  D W Fulker,et al.  Comparison of the biometrical genetical, MAVA, and classical approaches to the analysis of human behavior. , 1970, Psychological bulletin.

[14]  A. Varghese,et al.  The serotonin transporter: a vehicle to elucidate pulmonary hypertension? , 2004, Circulation research.

[15]  N. Martin,et al.  The inheritance of scholastic abilities in a sample of twins I. Ascertainment of the sample and diagnosis of zygosity , 1975, Annals of human genetics.

[16]  Dorret I. Boomsma,et al.  Variance Decomposition Using an IRT Measurement Model , 2007, Behavior genetics.

[17]  P. Sullivan,et al.  16 Genotype-environment interaction in transmission disequilibrium tests , 2001 .

[18]  P. Sullivan,et al.  Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis. , 2000, The American journal of psychiatry.

[19]  T. Brugha,et al.  The List of Threatening Experiences: a subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat , 1985, Psychological Medicine.

[20]  Alan D. Lopez,et al.  Evidence-Based Health Policy--Lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study , 1996, Science.

[21]  J. Nurnberger,et al.  A new, semi-structured psychiatric interview for use in genetic linkage studies: a report on the reliability of the SSAGA. , 1994, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[22]  A. Janssens,et al.  Meta-analyses of genetic studies on major depressive disorder , 2008, Molecular Psychiatry.

[23]  S Greenland,et al.  Concepts of interaction. , 1980, American journal of epidemiology.

[24]  D. Levinson.  Meta-analysis in psychiatric genetics , 2005, Current psychiatry reports.

[25]  R. Kessler,et al.  A twin study of recent life events and difficulties. , 1993, Archives of general psychiatry.

[26]  G. Masters.  A rasch model for partial credit scoring , 1982 .

[27]  K Hayakawa,et al.  Zygosity diagnosis of twins by questionnaire. , 1990, Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae.

[28]  W. D. Linden,et al.  A maximin model for IRT-based test design with practical constraints , 1989 .

[29]  Melvin R. Novick,et al.  Some latent train models and their use in inferring an examinee's ability , 1966 .

[30]  Lindon Eaves,et al.  Application of Bayesian Inference using Gibbs Sampling to Item-Response Theory Modeling of Multi-Symptom Genetic Data , 2005, Behavior genetics.

[31]  David Goldman,et al.  Serotonin transporter promoter gain-of-function genotypes are linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder. , 2006, American journal of human genetics.

[32]  Robert K. Tsutakawa,et al.  Approximation for Bayesian Ability Estimation , 1988 .