Building a New Project
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Save the Current Project
ConstructMap can only have one project active at a time. If you are currently working on one project and want to create another, you have to export the current project’s data so you can import it back into ConstructMap for future use.
You have two save options: (Save) and (Save Project As). For (File - Save), all of your project data will be available automatically the next time you launch ConstructMap. It will create or update four files in the main ConstructMap file folder: gomap.dbf, project.xml, items.txt, and students.txt. Among the four files, gomap.dbf saves all information included in the other three files and is the primary target file for ConstructMap to open when ConstructMap is launched. project.xml saves some advanced settings. items.txt saves item-specific parameter estimates and general model specifications. students.txt saves student responses, the answer key and demographic variables. Every time ConstructMap is launched, it will try to read gomap.dbf first. If you update ConstructMap to a newer version and try to access your previous dataset, the newer ConstructMap may not recognize the former version of gomap.dbf and will read data from the other three files to recreate your project.
For (File - Save Project As), you have to choose a file folder to save your data, and it will generate three files: project.xml, items.txt, and students.txt. The file content is stated above. The major difference between (Save) and (Save Project As) is that the former always saves data with fixed filenames in the main file folder, so these files would be changed if you open a different dataset later and save, and the latter can save data in your designated file folder. If you save your data into a different folder, you will need to import your data from that particular folder the next time you launch ConstructMap, please see the section on importing on how to do that.
Import the Data
To import the standard two tab-delimited files:
- Select File – Open - Tab Delimited. Answer Yes when asked if you want to remove the currently active project.
- Browse to the folder that contains the two files for the project you wish to enter, such as
Ex2_partial. - Highlight the model specification file to import, such as the
items.txtfile, and click Open. - Highlight the response data file to import, such as the
students.txtfile, and click Open.
See Also
- More options for Importing data
Estimate Item and Population Parameters
Once the model specification and response data have been imported, you should estimate the model.
