Akihito Kamata, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Measurement and Quantitative Methods, Michigan State University, 1998
M.S. in Psychology, Eastern Washington University, 1990
B.Ed. in Elementary Education and Psychology, Yamanashi University, Japan, 1988
I am a Professor of Quantitative Methods at Southern Methodist University, jointly appointed by Simmons School of Education & Human Development (Department of Education Policy & Leadership; Center on Research and Evaluation), and Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences (Department of Psychology). Currently, I am also the Executive Director of Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE).
Prior to joining SMU in 2013, I was a faculty member at the University of Oregon (2009-2013) and Florida State University (1998-2009).
My primary research interests are in psychometrics and educational and psychological measurement, focusing on implementation of item-level test data analysis and longitudinal data analysis methodology through various modeling framework, including item response theory, multilevel modeling, and structural equation modeling. For example, I did pioneering work on multilevel item response theory modeling, where item response data from individuals are nested within group units, such as schools. This line of work is represented by my 2001 publication in Journal of Educational Measurement, a special issue on multilevel measurement modeling in Journal of Applied Measurement in 2005, and several book chapters on the topic. Other recent interests include developing effect size measures for testlet modeling, developing reliability measures of growth trajectory for longitudinal data modeling, and Bayesian inference for complex psychometric models. I am also passionate in statistics education.
When I am not working on psychometrics or statistics, I enjoy roasting coffee beans for a perfect cup.
email: akamata@smu.edu
