Hi, I’m

Fatih.

I build measurement models that hold up.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Behavioral & Social Sciences at the University of Houston. PhD in Quantitative Methods, Baylor University. I work on psychometrics, item response theory, measurement invariance, and network psychometrics.

CV

About

I’m Fatih Ozkan, a postdoctoral research fellow in Behavioral & Social Sciences at the University of Houston, with a PhD in Educational Psychology (quantitative methods) from Baylor University.

My interests include psychometric methods for fair testing (bias-aware network psychometrics, differential item functioning, measurement invariance), item response theory, Bayesian modeling, and longitudinal health studies.

I use this space to share code, course notes, and small research projects as I work on methods for large educational and behavioral datasets.

Tools I use a lot:
  • R
  • Stan/JAGS
  • Quarto
  • Git/GitHub
  • Mplus
  • SAS

Experience

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Behavioral & Social Sciences - University of Houston
Aug 2026 - Present
  • Design and evaluate measurement models for behavioral and health science data, extending the bias-aware network psychometrics methods from my dissertation to applied research questions.
  • Provide psychometric support across projects, including scale development and validation, measurement invariance testing, and structural equation and multilevel models for nested designs.
  • Maintain reproducible R and Quarto pipelines so analyses, tables, and figures regenerate from source and hand off cleanly to collaborators.
Participating Researcher - Project LINK
2026 - Present
  • Research-policy liaison for McLennan County, TX, in Project LINK (Local Integration of New Knowledge), led by the University of Oregon and Johns Hopkins University and funded by the William T. Grant Foundation.
  • Conduct outreach and needs assessments with local policymakers, including public comment at the McLennan County Commissioners Court.
  • Write nonpartisan research briefs on child, youth, and family topics in response to policymaker-identified needs.
Graduate Research Assistant - Baylor University
2021 - 2026
  • Exceptional Performance Lab (Dir. Todd Kettler), Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Department of Educational Psychology.
  • Built reproducible analysis workflows in R, including simulation studies, model checking, and reporting that non-technical collaborators can actually use.
  • Applied psychometrics and measurement work, including IRT, measurement invariance, and reliability and validity evidence.
  • Analyzed large-scale assessment data, including plausible values and replicate weights when the design demands it.
Graduate Student, Educational Psychology
2019 - 2021
  • M.A. in Educational Psychology (Quantitative Methods), with a thesis on the effects of STEM education on gifted students.
2016 - 2019
  • Oversaw STEM programs.
  • Conducted teacher training.
  • Led curriculum development.
  • Managed community partnerships.
Science and Math Teacher - Ministry of National Education
2009 - 2016
  • Classroom instruction.
  • Lesson and assessment design.
  • Lab supervision.
  • Extracurricular mentorship.

Education

August 2026
Ph.D., Educational Psychology (Quantitative Methods)
Baylor University
Dissertation: Detecting Local Item Dependencies in STEM-Related Assessments via Bias-Aware Network Psychometrics: Improving Measurement in Gifted Education.
2021
M.A., Educational Psychology (Quantitative Methods)
Baylor University
Thesis: Analyzing the Effect of STEM Education on the Academic Success and Social-Emotional Development of Gifted Students.
2017
M.A., Science and Mathematics Education
Erciyes University (Kayseri, Türkiye)
Thesis: Determination of Misconceptions by Developing the Two-Stage Multiple-Choice Test for 7th Grade Digestive System.
2009
B.Ed., Math and Science Education
Erciyes University (Kayseri, Türkiye)
Concentration: Math and Science Education.

Projects

biasawareLID
R package Network psychometrics
biasawareLID
R package for bias-aware detection of group-specific local item dependence: residual networks, permutation inference with FDR control, and a group-disparity penalty.
GitHub
BLNM
Bayesian Latent networks
BLNM
Bayes factors for conditional independence in latent network modeling: a CFA measurement model with a Gaussian graphical model on the latent variables.
GitHub
Dispersion Profiles
Multilevel mixtures Simulation In preparation
Dispersion Profiles
Monte Carlo study of group dispersion profiles: when groups share the same mean but differ in within-group variability, does mean-based ICC screening miss them, and how does a continuous-scale alternative change class selection? Manuscript in preparation.
LID in Booklet Designs
Large-scale assessment In development
LID in Booklet Designs
Detecting group-specific local item dependence in large-scale assessments, where each student sees only part of the test.
Multigroup Latent Networks
Bayesian In development
Multigroup Latent Networks
Bayesian evidence for whether latent network structure is the same or different across groups.
Differential Item Variability
Measurement invariance In development
Differential Item Variability
When an item is noisier for one group than another, even at the same trait level.
AI-Generated Items Across Languages
DIF In development
AI-Generated Items Across Languages
Fairness checks for AI-drafted scale items in cross-cultural measurement.
Variability in Daily Life
Longitudinal In development
Variability in Daily Life
Within-person fluctuation in intensive longitudinal and EMA data.
Drug Supply Networks
Public health In development
Drug Supply Networks
How substances co-occur in overdose deaths, year by year, from public data.
Bayesian-Statistics
Bayesian R
Bayesian-Statistics
Course notes and code related to Bayesian statistics.
GitHub
PIRLS 2021 Türkiye
Psychometrics R
PIRLS 2021 Türkiye
Home and parental predictors of reading achievement in PIRLS 2021, including the Bayesian LASSO analysis behind the PARE paper.
GitHub
Partial-Measurement-Invariance
Measurement invariance Quarto
Partial-Measurement-Invariance
Materials and assets for working with measurement invariance.
GitHub

Publications

Bayesian Lasso Regression for Identifying Home and Parental Predictors of Reading Achievement: Evidence from PIRLS 2021 Türkiye
Ozkan, F. (2026). Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 31(1), Article 12.
What Changed Since 1994: Educator Attitudes Toward Gifted Education
Ozkan, F., Ogurlu, U., & Ozbay, A. (2026). Journal of Advanced Academics. Advance online publication.
Inclusion Bayes Factors for Conditional Independence in Latent Network Modeling
Ozkan, F. (2026). Preprint. PsyArXiv.
Rasch Investigation of the CogAT Form 8 Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal Domains in Grades 3 Through 5
Torres, D. K., Lutz, L. A., Song, J., Ozkan, F., Spitsberg, T., Filippini, T., Matsuo, H., & Morgan, G. B. (2026). Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 44(1), 20-35.
Machine Learning Prediction of Opioid Involvement in Connecticut Drug Overdose Deaths: Comparative Performance of Penalized Regression, Random Forest, and Support Vector Models
Ozkan, F. (2025, September 9). PREPRINT (Version 1). Research Square.
The Use of Financial Incentives in Qualitative Research across Disciplines in the United States: A Methodological Review from 1995 to 2021
Toraman Turk, S., Meneses, J., Turk, M., Fàbregues, S., Dudu, S., Ozkan, F., & Ustun-Elayan, B. (2025). Qualitative Social Sciences, 7(2), 107-127.
Application of Gamification Techniques in Well Control Training and Competency
Jensen, J. W., Kettler, T., & Ozkan, F. (2024, March). Paper presented at the IADC/SPE International Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Effects of STEM Education on the Academic Success and Social-Emotional Development of Gifted Students
Ozkan, F., & Kettler, T. (2022). Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity, 9(2), 143-164.
Opinions of Teachers on "This Is My Work" Project Competition
Ozkan, F., Oner Armagan, F., Bektas, O., & Saylan, A. (2015). Journal of History School, 8(23), 211-243.

Get in Touch

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