The ITEM Ontology: A Tool to Elucidate the Anatomy of Psychometric Indicators
Authors: Larsen, Kai R.; Mueller, Roland M.; Bonaretti, Dario; Fischer-Preßler, Diana; Burleson, James (Jim); Singh, Nimisha; Parsons, Jeffrey; Pillet, Jean-Charles; Sang, Lan; Zhang, Zhu (Drew)
Journal: Information Systems Research (2026)
<jats:p>Article Title: “The ITEM Ontology: A Tool to Elucidate the Anatomy of Psychometric Indicators”</jats:p> <jats:p>Authors:</jats:p> <jats:p>Kai R. Larsen, University of Colorado Boulder</jats:p> <jats:p>Roland M. Mueller, Berlin School of Economics and Law</jats:p> <jats:p>Dario Bonaretti, NEOMA Business School</jats:p> <jats:p>Diana Fischer-Preßler, University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt</jats:p> <jats:p>James (Jim) Burleson, California Polytechnic State University</jats:p> <jats:p>Nimisha Singh, Bennett University, India</jats:p> <jats:p>Jeffrey Parsons, Memorial University of Newfoundland</jats:p> <jats:p>Jean-Charles Pillet, Toulouse Business School</jats:p> <jats:p>Lan Sang, University of Colorado Boulder</jats:p> <jats:p>Zhu (Drew) Zhang, University of Rhode Island</jats:p> <jats:p>Problem definition:</jats:p> <jats:p>For decades, scientists have treated the survey item as the atomic unit of psychological measurement, an indivisible entity to be validated primarily through statistics. But what if we have been looking at the wrong level of analysis? Despite sophisticated modeling techniques, even well-validated instruments often contain items that are vague, double-ba…