Suppose you are conducting a differential item functioning analysis to see if women respond differentially to items that were originally developed on a sample of men. In this example, (using IRT terms) women would be the ________ group.

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In the context of differential item functioning (DIF) analysis, the group that is being specifically examined for potential differences in item response, in this case, women, is referred to as the "focal" group. The "referent" or "baseline" group would be the original group on which the items were developed, in this example, men.

Suppose You Are Conducting a Differential Item Functioning Analysis to See