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Team

  • Prof. Artur Pokropek (Principal Investigator) ORCID logo ORCID,, Google Scholar

    Artur PokropekArtur Pokropek is a Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the head of Data Science, Statistics and Machine Learning Group (DSSMLG) at the Educational Research Institute in Warsaw.  His main areas of research interests are statistics, research methods, evaluation, psychometrics and machine learning. He has developed several methodological and statistical approaches for analysing survey data. His expertise was presented and confirmed by numerous scientific articles in international journals such as Structural Equation Modelling, Science Education, Sociological Methods & Research, Learning and Individual Differences, Journal of Educational Psychology, as well as professional reports commissioned by e.g. OECD or European Commission. He gained knowledge as a visiting scholar at the Educational Testing Service (ETS; Princeton, USA; 2013-2014) and as an associate researcher at the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC; Ispra, Italy; 2016-2018). He holds a Habilitation degree in social sciences, Ph.D. in educational sciences, and two MA degrees: in educational sciences and in sociology.

    Research Projects

    • 2015-2019 Scales comparability in large-scale cross‐country surveys. The National Science Centre grant "Sonata" (2014/15/D/HS6/04934).
    • 2011-2012 Evaluation of educational policy using twins. Research grant awarded by the Global Development Network (RRC11_063).
    • Meuleman, Bart, Żółtak, Tomasz, Pokropek, Artur, Davidov, Eldad, Muthen, Bengt, Oberski, Daniel, Billiet, Jaak, Schmidt, Peter. (2022). Why measurement invariance is important in comparative research. A response to Welzel et al.
      (2021). Sociological Methods and Research. doi: 10.1177/00491241221091755
    • Pokropek, Artur, Muszyński, Marek, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2022). The impact of growing participation in PISA on scaling outcomes. A Monte Carlo simulation study. OECD Education Working Papers No. 277. Paris: OECD Publishing.
    • Muszyński, Marek, Pokropek, Artur, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2021). Structural Validity of Overclaiming Scores: analysing PISA 2012 data. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling 63(1), 119-145.
    • Pokropek A., Schmidt, P. & Davidov E. (2020). Choosing Priors in Bayesian Measurement Invariance Modeling: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 27(5). doi: 10.1080/10705511.2019.1703708
    • Pokropek, A., Lüdtke, O., & Robitzsch, A. (2020). An extension of the invariance alignment method for scale linking. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling 62(2), 305-334.
    • Khorramdel, L., Pokropek, A., Joo, S. H., Kirsch, I., & Halderman, L. (2020). Examining gender DIF and gender differences in the PISA 2018 reading literacy scale: A partial invariance approach. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling 62(2), 179-231.
    • Pokropek, A., & Borgonovi, F. (2020). Linking via Pseudo‐Equivalent Group Design: Methodological Considerations and an Application to the PISA and PIAAC Assessments. Journal of Educational Measurement 57(4), 527-546. doi: 10.1111/jedm.12261
    • Khorramdel, L., von Davier, M., & Pokropek, A. (2019). Combining mixture distribution and multidimensional IRTree models for the measurement of extreme response styles. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology 72(3), 538-559. doi: 10.1111/bmsp.12179
    • Pokropek, A., Davidov, E., & Schmidt, P. (2019). A Monte Carlo simulation study to assess the appropriateness of traditional and newer approaches to test for measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 26(5), 724-744. doi: 10.1080/10705511.2018.1561293
    • Borgonovi, F., & Pokropek, A. (2019). Seeing is believing: Task-exposure specificity and the development of mathematics self-efficacy evaluations. Journal of Educational Psychology 111(2), 268. doi: 10.1037/edu0000280
    • Marks, G. N., & Pokropek, A. (2019). Family income effects on mathematics achievement: their relative magnitude and causal pathways. Oxford Review of Education 45(6), 769-785. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2019.1620717

    Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences

    00-330 Warsaw, Poland
    72 Nowy Świat Street

    room 207

    Artur Pokropek

    Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Artur-Pokropek-Lab

  • Dr. Marek Muszyński (Post-doc Researcher) ORCID logo ORCID, Google Scholar

    Marek MuszyńskiCurrently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. His main research investigations concentrate around response biases (response styles, careless responding, socially desirable responding) in self-report data with a special focus on web surveys. He is also interested in more general psychological and educational assessment research topics.

    He holds a PhD degree in sociology and an MA diploma in cognitive psychology, both from Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland). He also graduated from a post-graduate programme in educational measurement held at Jagiellonian University and Educational Research Institute. His PhD thesis was focused on validity study of the overclaiming technique as a tool to account for positivity bias in self-assessment questions. Previously, he used to work as an educational consultant and researcher for various constituents, e.g. the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Evidence Institute (Warsaw, Poland), Educational Research Institute (IBE; Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych, Poland) or OECD.

    Research Projects

    • 2016 New methods of identifying and correcting for socially desirable responding in self-evaluation of educational skills: comparison and validation. Grant for young researchers, Jagiellonian University.
    • 2014 Polish adaptation of the BIDR-6 questionnaire. Grant for young researchers, Jagiellonian University.
    • 2013-2016 English as a foreign language in Polish schools: process and effects of teaching. Research project in Educational Research Institute.
    • Muszyński, Marek, Pokropek, Artur, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2021). Structural Validity of Overclaiming Scores: analysing PISA 2012 data. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling 63(1), 119-145.
    • Durlik, J., Szewczyk, J., Muszyński, M., & Wodniecka, Z. (2016). Interference and inhibition in bilingual language comprehension: Evidence from Polish- English interlingual homographs. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0151430.
    • Muszyński, M., Kondratek, B., Gajewska-Dyszkiewicz, A., Paczuska, K. & Szpotowicz, M. (2016). Właściwości psychometryczne egzaminu maturalnego 2015- język angielski, poziom podstawowy. Analizy IBE 2/2016, 1-30. [in Polish: Psychometric properties of the final high-school exam 2015- English, basic level.]
    • Muszyński, M., Campfield, E. D. & Szpotowicz, M. (2015). Język angielski w szkole podstawowej – proces i efekty nauczania. Wyniki podłużnego badania efektywności nauczania języka angielskiego (2011-2014). Warszawa: IBE. [book in Polish: English in primary schools: process and the effects of teaching. Results of longitudinal study on the effective English teaching (2011-2014).]
    • Muszyński, M., & Jakubowski, M. (2015). Use of learning strategies and reading performance- PISA 2009 results for Poland. Edukacja/Education Quarterly, 3(134), 5-25.

    Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences

    00-330 Warsaw, Poland
    72 Nowy Świat Street

    room 207

    Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Artur-Pokropek-Lab

  • Dr. Tomasz Żółtak (Post-doc Researcher) ORCID logo ORCID, Google Scholar

    Tomasz Żółtak

    Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. His research interests concentrate on applied statistics and research methodology mostly in the fields of educational research and political science. He’s also involved in development of data processing, analysis and reporting solutions for both other scientists and a more general audience.

    He holds PhD degree in sociology from the University of Warsaw. For many years he worked at the Educational Research Institute in Warsaw on applied research projects regarding measuring school-effectiveness using examination scores and tracking further educational and professional careers of graduates. Apart from research he has experience in teaching (courses on data analysis for MA students and on causal inference for PhD students at the University of Warsaw) implementing advanced psychometric methods in business solutions (collaboration with Polish firms Diagmatic and Talent Bridge) and software development (author and contributor to several R packages).

    Fundamental research

    Research team member in projects:

    • 2020 – 2023 Understanding response styles in self-report data: consequences, remedies and sources. The National Science Centre grant "Opus" (Opus/17/HS6/00937).
    • 2014 – 2015 Disproportionality in Polish 2010 and 2014 municipal elections. The National Science Centre grant Preludium (2013/09/N/HS5/00276).
    • 2013 – 2015 From School to Work: Individual and Institutional Determinants of Educational and Occupational Career Trajectories of Young Poles. The National Science Centre grant Maestro (DEC-2012/06/A/HS6/00323).

    Applied research

    Research team member in projects:

    • 2019 – 2020 Development of intelligent tools for the psycho-social-educational diagnosis of children and adolescents. Project financed within Operational Programme Smart Growth of the European Union (POIR.01.01.01-00-0402/18-00).
    • 2019 – 2020 Tracking the educational and career paths of vocational education graduates - phase II. Project financed within Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development of the European Union (POWR.02.15.00-IP.02-00-002/19).
    • 2016 – 2019 Tracking the educational and career paths of graduates and young adults. Project financed within Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development of the European Union (POWR.02.15.00-IP.02-00-004/16).
    • 2014 – 2015 Development of educational value-added methodology to strengthen external examinations' evaluation function. Project financed within Operational Programme Human Capital of the European Union (UDA-POKL.03.02.00-00-001/13-00‎).
    • 2010 – 2013 Developement of  the educational value-added methodology. Project financed within Operational Programme Human Capital of the European Union (UDA-POKL.03.02.00-00-010/07-04).
    • Breznau, Nate, Rinke, Eike Mark, Wuttke, Alexander, …, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2022). Observing Many Researchers Using the Same Data and Hypothesis Reveals a Hidden Universe of Uncertainty. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 119(44). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2203150119
    • Meuleman, Bart, Żółtak, Tomasz, Pokropek, Artur, Davidov, Eldad, Muthen, Bengt, Oberski, Daniel, Billiet, Jaak, Schmidt, Peter. (2022). Why measurement invariance is important in comparative research. A response to Welzel et al.
      (2021). Sociological Methods and Research, opublikowany na stronie internetowej czasopisma. doi: 10.1177/00491241221091755
    • Pokropek, Artur, Muszyński, Marek, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2022). The impact of growing participation in PISA on scaling outcomes. A Monte Carlo simulation study. OECD Education Working Papers No. 277. Paris: OECD Publishing.
    • Hawrot, Anna, Jasińska, Aleksandra, Żółtak, Tomasz, Tomaszewska, Hanna, Marchlik, Paulinina. (2022). Various reasons, various trajectories? Interrupted schooling among Polish upper secondary school students. Research Papers in
      Education 37(3), 418-440. doi: 10.1080/02671522.2020.1849373
    • Muszyński, Marek, Pokropek, Artur, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2021). Structural Validity of Overclaiming Scores: analysing PISA 2012 data. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling 63(1), 119-145.
    • Leńko-Szymańska, Agnieszka, Lewkowicz, Jo, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2020). Assessment of B2 English exam writing subtest: A quantitative analysis of the results of a pro-quality study. W: Andrzej Dąbrowski, Radosław Kucharczyk, Agnieszka Leńko-Szymańska i Jolanta Sujecka-Zając (red.) Competences of the 21st Century: Certification of language proficiency. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
    • Hawrot, Anna, Jasińska, Aleksandra, Żółtak, Tomasz, Tomaszewska, Hanna, Marchlik, Paulinina. (2020). Various reasons, various trajectories? Interrupted schooling among Polish upper secondary school students. Research Papers in Education. doi: 10.1080/02671522.2020.1849373
    • Gendźwiłł, Adam, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2020). Do parties and voters counteract quota regulations? The impact of legislative gender quotas on ballot ranking and preference voting in Poland. Politics & Gender 16(1), 199-229. doi: 10.1017/S1743923X18000880
    • Rajchert, Joanna, Żółtak, Tomasz, Szulawski, Michał, Jasielska, Dorota. (2019). Effects of rejection by a friend for someone else on emotions and behavior. Frontiers in Psychology 10, 764. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00764
    • Gendźwiłł, Adam, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2017). How single-member districts are reinforcing local independents and strengthening mayors: on the electoral reform in Polish local government. Local Government Studies 43(1), 110‑131. doi: 10.1080/03003930.2016.1254624
    • Żółtak, Tomasz, Golonka, Grzegorz. (2015). Does guessing matter? Differences between ability estimates from 2PL and 3PL IRT models in case of guessing. Edukacja 134(3), 63-76.
    • Gendźwiłł, Adam, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2014). Why Do Nonpartisans Challenge Parties in Local Politics? The (extreme) case of Poland. Europe-Asia Studies 66(7), 1122‑1145. doi: 10.1080/09668136.2014.927644
    • Rajchert, Joanna, Smulczyk, Marek, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2014). Predicting reading literacy and its improvement in the Polish national extension of the PISA study: The role of intelligence, trait- and state-anxiety, socio-economic status and school-type. Learning and Individual Differences 33, 1‑11. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.020
    • Rajchert, Joanna, Smulczyk, Marek, Żółtak, Tomasz. (2013). Trait-anxiety’s moderating role in predicting academic performance improvement in PISA. Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 11(3), s. 73-92.

    Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences

    00-330 Warsaw, Poland
    72 Nowy Świat Street

    room 207

    Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Artur-Pokropek-Lab

  • Dr. Lale Khorramdel (Collaborator) ORCID logo ORCID Google Scholar

    Dr. Lale Khorramdel is Associate Research Director for Psychometrics & Data Science at the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College (MA, USA).

    Dr. Khorramdel has long-standing expertise in the areas of psychometrics, applied statistics, large-scale assessments and cross-cultural studies. Before joining the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center in 2020, Dr. Khorramdel led psychometrics research and operational analysis for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) at the Educational Testing Service. There, her research topics included psychometric modeling of cognitive and non-cognitive data, the improvement of test designs, the establishment of measurement invariance and score comparability, and computer-based innovations in large-scale assessments. Dr. Khorramdel’s research experience also includes two years working for the National Board of Medical Examiners and several years with the University of Vienna (Austria).

    At the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, she is responsible for leading research focused on the use of log and process data from computer-based assessments, as well as on the improvement and extension of psychometric modeling approaches for international large-scale assessments. She is also responsible for leading the LaNA and Rosetta Stone projects, which aim to assess the literacy and numeracy readiness of students in low- and middle-income countries and to extend the reach of TIMSS and PIRLS.

    Dr. Khorramdel earned both her M.Sc. and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Vienna, specializing in Psychological Assessment and Applied Psychometrics.