
RESEARCH LIBRARY
RESEARCH LIBRARY
View the latest publications from members of the NBME research team
Medical Teacher: Volume 45 - Issue 6, Pages 565-573
This guide aims aim to describe practical considerations involved in reading and conducting studies in medical education using Artificial Intelligence (AI), define basic terminology and identify which medical education problems and data are ideally-suited for using AI.
Neural Engineering Techniques for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Volume 2, Pages 63-79
Automated detection of high-functioning autism in adults is a highly challenging and understudied problem. In search of a way to automatically detect the condition, this chapter explores how eye-tracking data from reading tasks can be used.
Behavior & Information Technology
This study builds upon prior work in this area that focused on developing a machine-learning classifier trained on gaze data from web-related tasks to detect ASD in adults. Using the same data, we show that a new data pre-processing approach, combined with an exploration of the performance of different classification algorithms, leads to an increased classification accuracy compared to prior work.
Applied Psychological Measurement: Volume 46, issue 2, page(s) 571-588
This study evaluates the degree to which position effects on two separate low-stakes tests administered to two different samples were moderated by different item (item length, number of response options, mental taxation, and graphic) and examinee (effort, change in effort, and gender) variables. Items exhibited significant negative linear position effects on both tests, with the magnitude of the position effects varying from item to item.
Applied Psychological Measurement: Volume 46, issue 6, page(s) 529-547
The current simulation study demonstrated that the sampling variance associated with the item response theory (IRT) item parameter estimates can help detect outliers in the common items under the 2-PL and 3-PL IRT models. The results showed the proposed sampling variance statistic (SV) outperformed the traditional displacement method with cutoff values of 0.3 and 0.5 along a variety of evaluation criteria.
Journal of Educational Measurement: Volume 59, Issue 2, Pages 140-160
A conceptual framework for thinking about the problem of score comparability is given followed by a description of three classes of connectives. Examples from the history of innovations in testing are given for each class.
Journal of Applied Technology: Volume 23 - Special Issue 1 - Pages 30-40
The interpretations of test scores in secure, high-stakes environments are dependent on several assumptions, one of which is that examinee responses to items are independent and no enemy items are included on the same forms. This paper documents the development and implementation of a C#-based application that uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to produce prioritized predictions of item enemy statuses within a large item bank.
Journal of Educational Measurement: Volume 58, Issue 4, Pages 515-537
In this paper, the NBME team reports the results an eye-tracking study designed to evaluate how the presence of the options in multiple-choice questions impacts the way medical students responded to questions designed to evaluate clinical reasoning. Examples of the types of data that can be extracted are presented. We then discuss the implications of these results for evaluating the validity of inferences made based on the type of items used in this study.
Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice
This article aims to answer the question: when the assumption that examinees may apply themselves fully yet still respond incorrectly is violated, what are the consequences of using the modified model proposed by Lewis and his colleagues?
Advances in Health Sciences Education: Volume 25, p 1057–1086 (2020)
This critical review explores: (1) published applications of data science and ML in HPE literature and (2) the potential role of data science and ML in shifting theoretical and epistemological perspectives in HPE research and practice.