{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132579"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132579","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Guidelines for the interpretation of NCDIF as an effect size measure","abstract":"Several statistics have been proposed to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and quantify its magnitude. However, not all DIF statistics quantify the same population parameters and, therefore, cannot be interpreted interchangeably. We focus on deriving principled guidelines for the interpretation of the non-compensatory differential item functioning (NCDIF) parameter as a DIF effect size measure. This parameter quantifies the expected (average) effect of the possible differences between item parameters on the (squared differences of the) item score for the focal population of examinees. We first investigate in which situations the Delta Mantel-Haenszel (ΔMH) is comparable to NCDIF, so that the ETS cutoff points can serve meaningfully as a benchmark. Then, we examine the parameter’s behavior under various conditions of uniform and non-uniform DIF, as well as the effect that the distribution of the focal group exerts on its magnitude. Lastly, using one of the estimators of the NCDIF parameter, we evaluate the accuracy of the derived classification rules for NCDIF and identify an approximate bias correction for this estimator. Overall, these results provide useful guidelines for interpreting the magnitude of NCDIF that are consistent with its specific nature and improve the alignment of DIF classifications with the magnitude of the NCDIF parameter.","abstract_html":"Several statistics have been proposed to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and quantify its magnitude. However, not all DIF statistics quantify the same population parameters and, therefore, cannot be interpreted interchangeably. We focus on deriving principled guidelines for the interpretation of the non-compensatory differential item functioning (NCDIF) parameter as a DIF effect size measure. This parameter quantifies the expected (average) effect of the possible differences between item parameters on the (squared differences of the) item score for the focal population of examinees. We first investigate in which situations the Delta Mantel-Haenszel (ΔMH) is comparable to NCDIF, so that the ETS cutoff points can serve meaningfully as a benchmark. Then, we examine the parameter’s behavior under various conditions of uniform and non-uniform DIF, as well as the effect that the distribution of the focal group exerts on its magnitude. Lastly, using one of the estimators of the NCDIF parameter, we evaluate the accuracy of the derived classification rules for NCDIF and identify an approximate bias correction for this estimator. Overall, these results provide useful guidelines for interpreting the magnitude of NCDIF that are consistent with its specific nature and improve the alignment of DIF classifications with the magnitude of the NCDIF parameter.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Le, Trung Tran Quoc"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cervantes, Víctor H","Zhang, Susu"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12","date_published":"2025-12","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z","subjects":["differential item functioning","DIF","NCDIF","effect size"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Trung Le"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132579","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cervantes, Víctor H","Zhang, Susu"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Le, Trung Tran Quoc"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-12","2025-12-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["differential item functioning","DIF","NCDIF","effect size"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Trung Le"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132579"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Several statistics have been proposed to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and quantify its magnitude. However, not all DIF statistics quantify the same population parameters and, therefore, cannot be interpreted interchangeably. We focus on deriving principled guidelines for the interpretation of the non-compensatory differential item functioning (NCDIF) parameter as a DIF effect size measure. This parameter quantifies the expected (average) effect of the possible differences between item parameters on the (squared differences of the) item score for the focal population of examinees. We first investigate in which situations the Delta Mantel-Haenszel (ΔMH) is comparable to NCDIF, so that the ETS cutoff points can serve meaningfully as a benchmark. Then, we examine the parameter’s behavior under various conditions of uniform and non-uniform DIF, as well as the effect that the distribution of the focal group exerts on its magnitude. Lastly, using one of the estimators of the NCDIF parameter, we evaluate the accuracy of the derived classification rules for NCDIF and identify an approximate bias correction for this estimator. Overall, these results provide useful guidelines for interpreting the magnitude of NCDIF that are consistent with its specific nature and improve the alignment of DIF classifications with the magnitude of the NCDIF parameter.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2026-02-19 without embargo terms","The student, Trung Le, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-05 at 08:32.","The student, Trung Le, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-05 at 08:34.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-05 at 11:53.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23076 on 2026-02-19 at 18:29:34"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Guidelines for the interpretation of NCDIF as an effect size measure"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cervantes, Víctor H","Zhang, Susu"],"dc:creator":["Le, Trung Tran Quoc"],"dc:date":["2025-12","2025-12-05"],"dc:description":["Several statistics have been proposed to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and quantify its magnitude. However, not all DIF statistics quantify the same population parameters and, therefore, cannot be interpreted interchangeably. We focus on deriving principled guidelines for the interpretation of the non-compensatory differential item functioning (NCDIF) parameter as a DIF effect size measure. This parameter quantifies the expected (average) effect of the possible differences between item parameters on the (squared differences of the) item score for the focal population of examinees. We first investigate in which situations the Delta Mantel-Haenszel (ΔMH) is comparable to NCDIF, so that the ETS cutoff points can serve meaningfully as a benchmark. Then, we examine the parameter’s behavior under various conditions of uniform and non-uniform DIF, as well as the effect that the distribution of the focal group exerts on its magnitude. Lastly, using one of the estimators of the NCDIF parameter, we evaluate the accuracy of the derived classification rules for NCDIF and identify an approximate bias correction for this estimator. Overall, these results provide useful guidelines for interpreting the magnitude of NCDIF that are consistent with its specific nature and improve the alignment of DIF classifications with the magnitude of the NCDIF parameter.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2026-02-19 without embargo terms","The student, Trung Le, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-05 at 08:32.","The student, Trung Le, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-05 at 08:34.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-05 at 11:53.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23076 on 2026-02-19 at 18:29:34"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132579"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Trung Le"],"dc:subject":["differential item functioning","DIF","NCDIF","effect size"],"dc:title":["Guidelines for the interpretation of NCDIF as an effect size measure"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z"}