qmatrix_validation: Q-matrix validation

In measr: Bayesian Psychometric Measurement Using 'Stan'

Q-matrix validation

Description

Calculate Q-matrix validation metrics for a fitted model objects using methods described by de la Torre and Chiu (2016). See details for additional information.

Usage

qmatrix_validation(x, ..., pvaf_threshold = 0.95)

Arguments

x	A measrdcm object.
...	Unused.
pvaf_threshold	The threshold for proportion of variance accounted for to flag items for appropriate empirical specifications. The default is .95 as implemented by de la Torre and Chiu (2016).

Details

Q-matrix validation is conducted by evaluating the proportion of variance accounted for by different Q-matrix specifications. Following the method described by de la Torre and Chiu (2016), we use the following steps for each item:

1. Calculate the total variance explained if an item measured all possible attributes.

2. For each possible Q-matrix entry, calculate the variance explained if the item measured the given attributes. Calculate the proportion of variance explained (PVAF) as the variance explained by the current Q-matrix entry divided by the variance explained by the saturated entry (Step 1).

3. After computing the PVAF for all possible Q-matrix entries, filter to only those with a PVAF greater than the specified pvaf_threshold threshold.

4. Filter the remaining Q-matrix entries to those that measure the fewest number of attributes (i.e., we prefer a more parsimonious model).

5. If there is more than one Q-matrix entry remaining, select the entry with the highest PVAF.

Value

A tibble containing the Q-matrix validation results. There is one row per item with 5 columns:

• The item identifier, as specified in the Q-matrix and used to estimate the model.

• original_specification: The original Q-matrix entry for the item.

• original_pvaf: The proportion of variance accounted for by the original specification, compared to a specification where the item measures all attributes.

• empirical_specification: The Q-matrix specification that measures the fewest attributes with a proportion of variance accounted for over the the specified pvaf_threshold threshold. If the original specification is optimal, empirical_specification will be NA.

• empirical_pvaf: The proportion of variance accounted for by the empirical specification, compared to a specification where the item measures all attributes. If the original specification is optimal, emprirical_pvaf will be NA.

References

de la Torre, J., & Chiu, C.-Y. (2016). A general method of empirical Q-matrix validation. Psychometrika, 81(2), 253-273. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1007/s11336-015-9467-8")}

Examples

mod_spec <- dcm_specify(
  qmatrix = dcmdata::ecpe_qmatrix,
  identifier = "item_id",
  measurement_model = dcmstan::lcdm(),
  structural_model = dcmstan::hdcm(
    hierarchy = "lexical -> cohesive -> morphosyntactic"
  )
)
rstn_ecpe <- dcm_estimate(
  mod_spec,
  data = dcmdata::ecpe_data,
  identifier = "resp_id",
  backend = "rstan",
  method = "optim"
)

q_matrix_validation <- qmatrix_validation(rstn_ecpe)

measr documentation built on Jan. 14, 2026, 5:08 p.m.