Vahid Aryadoust - Quantitative Data Analysis for Language Assessment Volume II

Quantitative Data Analysis for Language Assessment Volume II: Advanced Methods demonstrates advanced quantitative techniques for language assessment. The volume takes an interdisciplinary approach and taps into expertise from language assessment, data mining, and psychometrics. The techniques covered include Structural Equation Modeling, Data Mining, Multidimensional Psychometrics and Multilevel Data Analysis. Volume II is distinct among available books in language assessment, as it engages the readers in both theory and application of the methods and introduces relevant techniques for theory construction and validation. This book is highly recommended to graduate students and researchers who are searching for innovative and rigorous approaches and methods to achieve excellence in their dissertations and research. It is also a valuable source for academics who teach quantitative approaches in language assessment and data analysis courses.

Vahid Aryadoust is assistant professor of language assessment literacy at the National Institute of Education of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has led a number of language assessment research projects funded by, for example, the Ministry of Education (Singapore), Michigan Language Assessment (USA), Pearson Education (UK), and Paragon Testing Enterprises (Canada) and has published his research in Language Testing, Language Assessment Quarterly, Assessing Writing, Educational Assessment, Educational Psychology, and Computer Assisted Language Learning. He has also (co)authored a number of book chapters and books that have been published by Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Springer, Cambridge Scholar Publishing, Wiley Blackwell, and so on. He is a member of the advisory board of multiple international journals including Language Testing (Sage), Language Assessment Quarterly (Taylor & Francis), Educational Assessment (Taylor & Francis), Educational Psychology (Taylor & Francis), and Asia Pacific Journal of Education (Taylor & Francis). In addition, he has been awarded the Intercontinental Academia Fellowship (20182019), which is an advanced research program launched by the University-Based Institutes for Advanced Studies. Vahid's areas of interest include theory-building and quantitative data analysis in language assessment, neuroimaging in language comprehension, and eye tracking research.

Michelle Raquel is a senior lecturer at the Centre of Applied English Studies, University of Hong Kong, where she teaches language testing and assessment to postgraduate students. She has worked in several tertiary institutions in Hong Kong as an assessment developer and has either led or been part of a group that designed and administered large-scale diagnostic and language proficiency assessments such as Hong Kong Institute of Education's Tertiary English Language Test (TELT), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA), and Diagnostic English Language Tracking Assessment (DELTA), a government-funded inter-institutional project tasked to develop a computer-based academic English diagnostic test. She specializes in data analysis, specifically Rasch measurement, and has published several articles in international journals on this topic as well as on academic English diagnostic assessment, English as a second language (ESL) testing of reading and writing, dynamic assessment of second language dramatic skills, and English for specific purposes (ESP) testing.

Purya Baghaei is an associate professor in the English Department, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch, Mashhad, Iran. He holds a PhD in applied linguistics from Alpen-Adria Universitt, Klagenfurt, Austria. He is a scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany and has conducted post-doctoral research at universities in Vienna, Berlin, Jena, and Bamberg. His major research interest is in foreign language proficiency testing with a focus on the applications of item response theory models in test validation and scaling. He has published numerous articles on language testing and cognitive components of second language acquisition in international journals.

Khaled Barkaoui is an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, York University, Canada. His current research focuses on second-language (L2) assessment, L2 writing, L2 program evaluation, longitudinal and mixed-methods research, and English for academic purposes (EAP). His publications have appeared in Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Assessing Writing, Language Testing, Language Assessment Quarterly, System, and TESOL Quarterly.

Jens Fleischer is a post-doc researcher at the Department of Instructional Psychology of the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). His research interests include the assessment of competencies in secondary and higher education and research on cognitive and motivational predictors of academic learning. Most recently, he has worked on the assessment and modeling of cross-curricular problem-solving competence and was a member of the coordination team of the interdisciplinary priority research program Models of Competence. Currently, he is working in a research group investigating factors that influence academic learning and academic success in the entry phase of science and technology study programs.

Christine Goh is professor of linguistics and language education at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her areas of interest and expertise are cognitive and metacognitive processes in L2 listening and speaking, teaching and assessment of L2 listening and speaking, and teacher cognition. She publishes extensively in these areas in books, book chapters, and journal articles, and her work has been widely cited internationally.

Samuel Greiff is research group leader, principal investigator, and ATTRACT-fellow at the University of Luxembourg. He holds a PhD in cognitive and experimental psychology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He has been awarded national and international research funds by diverse organizations, is currently a fellow in the Luxembourg research programme of excellency, and has published articles in national and international scientific journals and books. He has an extensive record of conference contributions and invited talks and serves as editor for several journals, such as the European Journal of Psychological Assessment and the Journal of Educational Psychology and Thinking Skills and Creativity.

Yo In'nami is a professor of English at Chuo University, Japan. He is also a PhD candidate's adviser and an external PhD examiner at Temple University Japan Campus. He has taught various undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in language testing, second language acquisition, and statistics for language research. He currently is interested in meta-analytic inquiry into the variability of effects and the longitudinal measurement of change in language proficiency. His publications have appeared in International Journal of Testing, Language Assessment Quarterly, Language Learning, Language Testing, System, and TESOL Quarterly. His website is https://sites.google.com/site/yoinnami

Christoph J. Kemper worked at different universities and research institutes in Germany and abroad. He currently holds a position as Professor for Differential Psychology and Assessment at the HSD University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany. He was recently appointed head of the Center for Psychological Assessment of HSD University. He teaches psychological assessment, differential psychology, and research methods in bachelor's and master's programs (psychology). His research on individual differences and their assessment such as personality, motives, and anxiety, as well as different aspects of assessment/survey methodology, is widely published in more than 50 research papers, including 25 peer-reviewed publications. He is also first and coauthor of many assessment instruments.