Open-ended versus multiple-choice response formats--it does make a difference for diagnostic purposes

Loading...

View/Download File

v11n4p385.pdf (1.31 MB)

Persistent link to this item

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/104073

Statistics

View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Open-ended versus multiple-choice response formats--it does make a difference for diagnostic purposes

Authors

Birenbaum, Menucha

Tatsuoka, Kikumi K.

Published Date

1987

Publisher

Type

Article

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of response format—open-ended (OE) versus multiple-choice (MC)—on the diagnosis of examinee misconceptions in a procedural task. A test in fraction addition arithmetic was administered to 285 eighth-grade students, 148 of whom responded to the OE version of the test and 137 to the MC version. The two datasets were compared with respect to the underlying structure of the test, the number of different error types, and the diagnosed sources of misconception (bugs) reflected in the response patterns. The overall results indicated considerable differences between the two formats, with more favorable results for the OE format. The effect of item format on examinee responses has been studied extensively in the past decade. The equivalence of open-ended (OE) items (also known as free-response or recall items) and multiple- choice (MC)items(also known as recognition items) has addressed by psychometricians and cognitive psychologists. From an information-processing point of view, different models for the two formats have been suggested (e. g., Bender, 1980). The commonly held view suggests that recall items require examinees to both search for and retrieve information, whereas recognition items require them only to discriminate among the presented information.

Keywords

Description

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Applied Psychological Measurement, Volume 11, 1987

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Birenbaum, Menucha & Tatsuoka, Kikumi K. (1987). Open-ended versus multiple-choice response formats--it does make a difference for diagnostic purposes. Applied Psychological Measurement, 11, 385-395. doi:10.1177/014662168701100404

Suggested citation

Birenbaum, Menucha; Tatsuoka, Kikumi K.. (1987). Open-ended versus multiple-choice response formats--it does make a difference for diagnostic purposes. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/104073.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.