# Exploratory Essay Why can we do Rasch model using HLM? By Kazuaki ekawa kaz!

uekawa at yahoo"com #$%$%&#' Episode """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""# Rasch model as a logistic regression model""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""# Why can we do Rasch model using HLM?"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""( )**E+,-. #" Experimenting with Logistic Regression$Rasch model using /)/ *R01 L02-/3-1"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""4 )ppendix ,oing Rasch model using /)/ *R01 +LM-.E,""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""5 )**E+,-. 6" R ++-+2 W-+/*3E*/ 73he same data8"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""#&

Episode
- met Rasch model in #55( when my mentor 1harles Bidwell recei9ed an ad9ice :rom Larry Hedges a;out some pro;lems that our pro<ect team was :acing" We had two data sets where some o: the sur9ey items were common" Because the two data sets pro9ide some common items= we were told that we can merge the two data sets to create a scale" Well= it was a hard situation to descri;e= ;ut anyways - had to read the Rasch ;ook and took a course with Ben Wright and >ohn Linacre" - can see how - didn?t understand Rasch model ;ack then" - :elt - understood it when - saw )ki Kamata presenting his material at )ER)" @or those who understand logistic regression ;ut don?t know Rasch model= - <ust wanted to share my AahaB moment with you ;y showing how Rasch model is the same as logistic regression model and also how some people use HLM to do Rasch model" - say HLM ;elow= ;ut what - really mean is multile9el logistic regression" HLM?s L is linear= so to call it HLM is wrong= ;ut it is <ust easy to say HLM"

Rasch model as a logistic regression model

Rasch model helps you construct a scale ;ased on a set o: sur9ey items" Rasch has ;een an alternati9e to a common practice that people do= which is the use o: simple means o9er se9eral items 7e"g"= in /)/= +ewCaria;leDmean7o: .# .% .6 .' .(8E8" 3he pro;lem o: this approach is :amous" /ur9ey items are usually ordinal 9aria;les and they are not linear measures" Being linear means that a 9alue o: % is twice as large as #" ) sur9ey item :or example is answered ;y &= #= %= or 6 7each corresponding some kind o: phrases such as Astrongly agreeB8" But this is an ordinal 9aria;le and thus no one knows whether a person who answered % is twice as large as the person who answered # in some kind o: Fuantity that these people exhi;it" Rasch model uses logit to express the chance o: a person getting higher rating rather than a lower rating on sur9ey items 7e"g"= the chance o:

% getting AGesB instead o: A+oB or A/trongly agreeB instead o: A)greeB8" Because it uses logit= Rasch scores are linear ;y construction" Get= i: it really is a linear measure depends on whether the data 7sur9ey data8 ;eha9e according to the Rasch eFuation" Gou must ha9e seen this eFuation somewhere ;e:ore" 0ne o: my AahaB moments came when - learned :rom *ro:essor Kamata at @lorida state uni9ersity that one can use HLM to do Rasch model" )lso - had another AahaB moment when >ohn Linacre= the author o: Winsteps$@acets mentioned that such a model 7HLM$Rasch8 treats person measures as random e::ects= while his so:tware Winsteps treat person measures as :ixed e::ects" /o - :igured that Rasch model is a logistic regression" May;e hearing me say this= Rasch teachers will tell me= A-?9e ;een telling you that all along"B But - <ust didn?t get it and am curious i: there are people out there who would understand it immediately i: they are told that Rasch model is a logistic regression" -t is a lot easier to start :rom how Rasch model is a logistic regression and how one can also use HLM to do Rasch model" HHH Rasch model actually is the same as logistic regression= i: the scoring is dichotomous 7Ges or +o8" -: the scoring is ;ased on a likert scale 7e"g"= /trongly ,isagree= ,isagree= )gree= /trongly )gree8= then Rasch model is the same as ordered logit model 7not multinomial logistic model ;ecause we at least know that the Fuantity increases as we go :rom /trongly disagree to disagree= and so on"8 Because it is easier= let?s :ocus on a case where respondents responded Ges 7o:ten coded as #8 or +o 7o:ten coded as &8Ias opposed to a likert scale response like /trongly ,isagree to /trongly )gree" - said Ao:ten codedB ;ecause the num;ers themsel9es are <ust ar;itrarily assigned= so so:tware knows that # is considered a category that is higher in 9alue than the other category" @irst we ha9e to know how the data structure looks like" @or many o: us who is :amiliar with how data sets look like in Excel= /)/= or /*//= each o;ser9ation represents a moment= so to speak" 7- am going to use this notion AmomentB later= so please remem;er it" Roughly it means unit o: o;ser9ation or each row or record in a spread sheet ;ased data set8" -n a typical sur9ey item= a respondent is meeting a sur9ey Fuestion with a 9arying di::iculty le9el o: endorsement 7where Ges is endorsement= while +o is re<ection8" 3hat is the unit o: analysis in Rasch model" 3hus= the :ollowing Rasch eFuation expresses what happens when a person meets a sur9ey item" Log7*$#J*8 D person a;ility K item di::iculty 3his means that the chance 7expressed in logit8 o: getting Ges as opposed to +o is regulated only ;y two :actors= person?s a;ility and item?s di::iculty o: endorsement" -: you are used to )+0C) and are used to representing Ae::ectsB in the way - did= you :ind

6 a;o9e expression intuiti9ely easy" @or people who only learned regression in /tat #&#= con:irm that the :ollowing logistic regression eFuation means the same thing" -nstead o: saying Aperson a;ilityB the eFuation ;elow uses a series o: dummy 9aria;les to indicate which o;ser9ation came :rom whom= as well as which o;ser9ation 7or AmomentB as de:ined earlier8 came :rom which sur9ey items" Log7*$#J*8D ;#H<ohn L ;%HEdward L ;6HMary M" L g#Hsur9eyitem# L g%Hsur9eyitem% L g6Hsur9eyitem6 M 3he data set would look like this" Essentially= we are modeling the occurrence o: Ges or +o 7dependent 9aria;le8 using person in:ormation and sur9ey in:ormation" 3he coe::icients ;#= ;%= ;6= M correspond to person measures 7the larger the e::ect= the more Fuantity the persons ha9e in whate9er Fuantity you are measuring 7the measure o: liking science? 3he measure o: de9iance? etc"8" 3he coe::icients o: g#= g%= g6= M correspond to the item easiness 7the more= the easier the sur9ey items are :or people in general to endorse8" Because it is a common practice to talk a;out item di::iculty 7rather than item easiness8 you can :lip the signs o: these e::ects ;y multiplying g?s with J#"

What happened at the moment when a person meets a survey item? Dependen t Variable Yes or NO John Who? Mar y Dave Which survey item? Item Item Item 1 !

John John John Mary Mary Mary Dave Dave Dave

1 " " 1 1 " 1 1 1

1 1 1 " " " " " "

" " " 1 1 1 " " "

" " " " " " 1 1 1

1 " " 1 " " 1 " "

" 1 " " 1 " " 1 "

" " 1 " " 1 " " 1

sing the logit model in this way= we deri9e the measures that are linear" 3he measures are linear ;y construction K <ust ;ecause logit goes :rom minus in:inity to positi9e in:inity and ;ecause it shows a sense o: nice gradation 7recall sometimes likert scales return coarse distri;ution shape8" Howe9er= whether really the measures are linear depend on how well the Rasch model eFuation?s assumptions are met ;y the data" What are such assumptions? ,on?t look anywhere else= assumptions are already explicit in this eFuation" Log7*$#J*8 D person a;ility K item di::iculty

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@or example= the Rasch eFuation decided already that item di::iculty carry eFual weight 7or same meaning8 :or e9eryone in the data set" What happens= i: people di::erently to sur9ey items? Rasch analysts are o:ten criticized :or getting rid o: cases when that happens" @or example= i: ;lack students and white students respond to a Fuestion di::erently= Rasch analysts typically want to get rid o: such sur9ey items 7while other item response theorists would want to modi:y the eFuation to accommodate the ;eha9ior o: the data= which is a source o: ;ig de;ates"8 Rasch analysts= <ust like any;ody else= wants to do a pilot studies o: their sur9ey instruments= so they make sure items ;eha9e in the say :or e9eryone= i"e"= item di::iculty does not 9ary ;y su;groups" 3here are many other things that this eFuation is explicit a;out" 3hough it sounds like a common sense= ;ecause the eFuation does not ha9e an interaction person a;ility and item di::iculty are considered independent :rom one another" 3his means that e9eryone in the data should recei9e the same le9el o: challenge 7o: endorsing it ;y Ges as opposed to +o8" Whoops= - guess - am repeating a similar theme again as a;o9e" -: item di::iculty 9aries ;y su;groups= people say it is a pro;lem o: Adi::erential item :unctioningB or ,-@" >ust the :act that there are only two elements in this eFuation itsel: is an assumption" -n reality= we can think o: lots o: other :actors that in:luence Log7*$#J*8 at the moment when a person meets a sur9ey item" May;e the respondent was too tired or lazy= so he <ust answered the Fuestion without thinking a;out it" 3hat is a :actor too= ;ut the Rasch eFuation does not take that into consideration"

Why can we do Rasch model using HLM?

When you do Rasch model ;y HLM= you want to think o: person a;ility as random e::ects" -n the :ollowing HLM model= le9elJ# is an items and le9elJ% is a person= so that items are nested within persons" 3he eFuation would look like thisN Le9el#N log7p$#Jp8D;& L ;#Hitem# L ;%Hitem% L ;6Hitem 6 M Le9el%N ;&Dg&& L u&& Le9el%N ;#Dg#& Le9el%N ;%Dg%& Le9el%N ;6Dg6& where u&& is a random component :or the intercept ;&" -n this HLM :ormulation= u&& is a person measure" 3his can ;e written also in a com;ined :ormN Log7p$#Jp8D g&& L g#&Hitem# L g%&Hitem% L g6&Hitem6 "" L u&& where u&& is a random e::ect :or teachers )gain in this :ormulation= u&& is a person measure" +ote that in the :irst le9elJspeci:ic eFuation= u&& is called random component :or the intercept 7- think8= while in the com;ined model= it is called random e::ects" 3hey are the same things" How is this di::erent :rom a logistic regression that - showed earlier? Let me write it againN Logistic regressionN Log7*$#J*8D ;#H<ohn L ;%HEdward L ;6HMary M" L g#Hsur9eyitem# L g%Hsur9eyitem% L g6Hsur9eyitem6 M HLM Log7p$#Jp8D g&& L g#&Hitem# L g%&Hitem% L g6&Hitem6 "" L u&& where u&& is random 0R Le9el#N log7p$#Jp8D;& L ;#Hitem# L ;%Hitem% L ;6Hitem 6 M Le9el%N ;&Dg&& L u&& Le9el%N ;#Dg#& Le9el%N ;%Dg%& Le9el%N ;6Dg6& where u&& is a random component :or the intercept ;&"

O 3he di::erence is that in the :ormer= person measures 7or person e::ects or coe::icients :or person dummy 9aria;les8 are treated as :ixed e::ects= while in HLM they are treated as random e::ects" @ixed e::ects are rather traditional way o: treating person measures= as >ohn Linacre?s Winstep program treats person measures in this way" Random e::ects approach assumes that person measures is a random 9aria;le" +ow why people want to express person measures as random e::ects????? - am not exactly sure and - am not sure what the ad9antage is :or using random e::ects in Rasch model setting" -: we are talking a;out HLM= random e::ects ha9e ad9antage o: using Baysian shrinkageIweighting o: measures ;ased on the relia;ility o: the measures themsel9es" -n this way= extreme o;ser9ations that happen to ;e low on relia;ility are pre9ented :rom in:luencing the grand mean o: person measures" -n Rasch model setting= - am not exactly sure why you want to do that= though may;e you want to do that= so you can a9oid treating persons whose relia;ility is 9ery low" But why do HLM people want to do such weighting? 3his is a kind o: philosophy" When you think some measures are not relia;le= you want to pull the 9alues towards the grand a9erage= so it is sa:e in a sense that such an extreme case won?t in:luence the o9erall a9erage" -: you don?t ;elie9e in this= there is no reason to do HLM 7and thus apply shrinkage to the person measures8" Let me know i: - am anyway mistaken"

APPENDI !" E#perimenting with Logistic Regression$Rasch model using %A% PR&' L&(I%)I'
-n this data we ha9e >ohn= Mary= ,a9id= and )rnold" Each person has a power o:= respecti9ely= #=%=6= and '" 3hese powers are true powers o: these persons" +ow they tried to li:t the weights whose real weights are #= %= 6= '= and (" 3he experiment is how these true latent 9aria;les= person power and weights= will compare with predicted 9alues :rom logistic regression model" data kazE input +ame P response weight# weight% weight6 weight' weight( <ohn# mary% da9id6 arnold'E cardsE >ohn!power# # #&&&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &#&&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&#&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&&#&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&&&##&&& mary!power% # #&&&&&#&& mary!power% # &#&&&&#&& mary!power% & &&#&&&#&& mary!power% & &&&#&&#&& mary!power% & &&&&#&#&& da9id!power6 # #&&&&&&#& da9id!power6 # &#&&&&&#& da9id!power6 # &&#&&&&#& da9id!power6 & &&&#&&&#& da9id!power6 & &&&&#&&#& arnold!power6 # #&&&&&&&# arnold!power6 # &#&&&&&&# arnold!power6 # &&#&&&&&# arnold!power6 # &&&#&&&&# arnold!power6 & &&&&#&&&# E runE proc printE runE proc logistic dataDkaz descendingE model responseD weight% weight6 weight' weight( mary% da9id6 arnold'E runE - plotted each person?s real a;ility against the predicted logit 9alue o;tained :rom Logistic regression model"

Person Measure
Latent *aria,le -true power o+ each person. #

1 " 1" " !" #" $" Predicted *alues +or each person +rom Logistic Regression Model

- plotted each weight?s real weight against the predicted logit 9alue o;tained :rom logistic regression model" 3he predicted logit 9alue represents item easiness 7rather than item di::iculty8 ;y construction 7so to con9ert this into a con9entional concept o: item di::iculty= multiple the predicted 9alues ;y J#8"
Item di++iculty Measures -o+ weights.
Latent *aria,le -true weight o+ each weight. $ # !

1 %$" %#" %!" % " %1" " 1" Predicted logit /alue +rom Logistic Regression model

- guess this means that i: the data ;eha9e per:ectly= Rasch model returns a linear measure that really is linear in meaning" But my Fuestion is that why is this the case when logit trans:ormation is used" - expected these lines to ;e more cur9y <ust ;ecause we used logit" May;e it is? Let me know i: you are mathematician and can see why - am a ;it con:used here"

Appendi# Doing Rasch model using %A% PR&' NLMI ED

data kazE input +ame P response weight# weight% weight6 weight' weight( <ohn# mary% da9id6 arnold'E cardsE >ohn!power# # #&&&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &#&&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&#&&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&&#&#&&& <ohn!power# & &&&&##&&& mary!power% # #&&&&&#&& mary!power% # &#&&&&#&& mary!power% & &&#&&&#&& mary!power% & &&&#&&#&& mary!power% & &&&&#&#&& da9id!power6 # #&&&&&&#& da9id!power6 # &#&&&&&#& da9id!power6 # &&#&&&&#& da9id!power6 & &&&#&&&#& da9id!power6 & &&&&#&&#& arnold!power' # #&&&&&&&# arnold!power' # &#&&&&&&# arnold!power' # &&#&&&&&# arnold!power' # &&&#&&&&# arnold!power' & &&&&#&&&# E runE proc nlmixed dataDkazE etaD ;#Hweight# L ;%Hweight% L ;6Hweight6 L ;'Hweight' L ;(Hweight( L uE expetaDexp7eta8E pDexpeta$7#Lexpeta8E model response R ;inary7p8E random u R normal7&=s%u8 su;<ectDname outD*ER/0+!ME)/ RE!@-LEE ods output *arameterEstimatesD-3EM!,-@@-1 L3G!@-LEE runE proc print dataDperson!measure!:ileErunE proc print dataDitem!di::iculty!:ileErunE

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APPENDI 0" R1NNIN( WIN%P)EP% -)he same data.

- constructed the :ollowing control :ile" - am not sure i: #&&S i: - did the right thing" /eems like my Winsptes is not running well on my .* en9ironment" E a semiJcolon means a commentN remo9e semiJcolons as needed" T-+/3 3-3LE D UExperimenting with Rasch ModelU E-nput ,ata @ormat +)ME# D # E column o: start o: person in:ormation +)MLE+ D 6& E maximum length o: person in:ormation -3EM# D #( E column o: :irst itemJle9el response +- D ( E num;er o: items D test length .W-,E D # E num;er o: columns per response *ER/0+ D *erson E *ersons are called """ -3EM D Weight E -tems are called """ 1L@-LE D H E la;el the categories in 3a;le 6 & @ailed at li:ting the weight E & in the data means U/trongly ,isagreeU # Li:ted the weight succes:ully E # in the data means U/trongly )greeU H TE+, E*ut item la;els here :or +-D lines weight# weight% weight6 weight' weight( E+, L)BEL/ E*ut data here >ohn!power# #&&&& mary!power% ##&&& da9id!power6 ###&& arnold!power' ####&