A Nonparametric Bayesian Item Response Modeling Approach for Clustering Items and Individuals Simultaneously

Abstract: Item response theory (IRT) is a popular modeling paradigm for measuring subject latent traits and item properties according to discrete responses in tests or questionnaires. There are very limited discussions on heterogeneity pattern detection for both items and individuals. In this paper, we introduce a nonparametric Bayesian approach for clustering items and individuals simultaneously under the Rasch model. Specifically, our proposed method is based on the mixture of finite mixtures (MFM) model. MFM obtains the number of clusters and the clustering configurations for both items and individuals simultaneously. The performance of parameters estimation and parameters clustering under the MFM Rasch model is evaluated by simulation studies, and a real date set is applied to illustrate the MFM Rasch modeling.