Research on human cognitive abilities has a long history in psychology and education, and has been widely applied to practical problems in schools, clinics, and employment settings. This book explores the historical background and current views of how human intelligence manifests itself in real-world contexts.

This book reviews the latest techniques in exploratory data mining (EDM) for the analysis of data in the social and behavioral sciences to help researchers assess the predictive value of different combinations of variables in large data sets. Methodological findings and conceptual models that explain reliable EDM techniques for predicting and understanding various risk mechanisms are integrated throughout. Numerous examples illustrate the use of these techniques in practice. Contributors provide insight through hands-on experiences with their own use of EDM techniques in various settings. Readers are also introduced to the most popular EDM software programs. A related website at http://mephisto.unige.ch/pub/edm-book-supplement/offers color versions of the book's figures, a supplemental paper to chapter 3, and R commands for some chapters. The results of EDM analyses can be perilous - they are often taken as predictions with little regard for cross-validating the results. This carelessness can be catastrophic in terms of money lost or patients misdiagnosed. This book addresses these concerns and advocates for the development of checks and balances for EDM analyses. Both the promises and the perils of EDM are addressed. Editors McArdle and Ritschard taught the "Exploratory Data Mining" Advanced Training Institute of the American Psychological Association (APA). All contributors are top researchers from the US and Europe. Organized into two parts--methodology and applications, the techniques covered include decision, regression, and SEM tree models, growth mixture modeling, and time based categorical sequential analysis. Some of the applications of EDM (and the corresponding data) explored include: selection to college based on risky prior academic profiles the decline of cognitive abilities in older persons global perceptions of stress in adulthood predicting mortality from demographics and cognitive abilities risk factors during pregnancy and the impact on neonatal development Intended as a reference for researchers, methodologists, and advanced students in the social and behavioral sciences including psychology, sociology, business, econometrics, and medicine, interested in learning to apply the latest exploratory data mining techniques. Prerequisites include a basic class in statistics.

Contemporary Psychometrics features cutting edge chapters organized in four sections: test theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multivariate analysis. The section on test theory includes topics such as multidimensional item response theory (IRT), the relationship between IRT and factor analysis, estimation and testing of these models, and basic measurement issues that are often neglected. The factor analysis section reviews the history and development of the model, factorial invariance and factor analysis indeterminacy, and Bayesian inference for factor scores and parameter estimates. The section on structural equation modeling (SEM) includes the general algebraic-graphic rules for latent variable SEM, a survey of goodness of fit assessment, SEM resampling methods, a discussion of how to compare correlations between and within independent samples, dynamic factor models based on ARMA time series models, and multi-level factor analysis models for continuous and discrete data. The final section on multivariate analysis includes topics such as dual scaling of ordinal data, model specification and missing data problems in time series models, and a discussion of the themes that run through all multivariate methods. This tour de force through contemporary psychometrics will appeal to advanced students and researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and education, as well as methodologists from other disciplines.

This book is in celebration of the seminal work of Roderick P. McDonald whose career has spanned over forty years and three continents. His work in factor analysis, structural modeling, multivariate analysis, and test theory has inspired the research of many of the leading scholars in these fields. All of the book's cutting edge chapters are contributions from Rod's former students, fellow researchers, and/or long time friends. Contemporary Psychometrics features four diverse sections: test theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multivariate analysis. All of the chapters address key issues in psychometrics using the most contemporary methods possible. The section on test theory includes topics such as multidimensional item response theory (IRT), the relationship between IRT and factor analysis, estimation and testing of these models, and a reflection on basic measurement issues that are often neglected. The factor analysis section reviews the history and development of the model, factorial invariance and factor analysis indeterminacy, and Bayesian inference for factor scores and parameter estimates. latent variable SEM, a survey of goodness of fit assessment, SEM resampling methods, a discussion of how to compare correlations between and within independent samples, the psychological processes with dynamic factor models based on ARMA time series models, and multi-level factor analysis models for continuous and discrete data. The final section on multivariate analysis includes topics such as dual scaling of ordinal data, model specification and missing data problems in time series models, and concludes with a discussion of the themes that run through all multivariate methods. The tour de force through contemporary psychometrics will appeal to advanced students and researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and education, as well as methodologists from other disciplines.

Research on human cognitive abilities has a long history in psychology and education, and has been widely applied to practical problems in schools, clinics, and employment settings. This book explores the historical background and current views of how human intelligence manifests itself in real-world contexts.