Development and validation of a university students’ progression in learning quantum mechanics through exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Italo Testa ◽  
Giuliana Capasso ◽  
Arturo Colantonio ◽  
Silvia Galano ◽  
Irene Marzoli ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura K. Johnson ◽  
Rachel A. Plouffe ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske

Abstract. The Dark Triad is a constellation of three antisocial personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Recently, researchers have introduced a “Dark Tetrad” that includes subclinical sadism, although others suggest considerable overlap between psychopathy and sadism. To clarify the position of sadism within the Dark Triad, an online study was conducted with 615 university students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that a six-factor solution fit the data best, representing Machiavellianism, psychopathy, physical sadism, verbal sadism, narcissism, and vicarious sadism. Furthermore, convergent validity was supported through sadism’s correlations with the HEXACO personality traits. The results support sadism’s inclusion within the Dark Tetrad as a unique construct but with some conceptual overlap with psychopathy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-897
Author(s):  
Atiqa Rafeh ◽  
Rubina Hanif

The present study was intended to develop a scale to measure perceived weight stigmatization among people with obesity. The study was conducted in five steps. In first step, three focus group discussions were conducted with female obese university students to get the first-hand information related to weight stigmatization. Step two involved four interviews which were conducted with male obese university students to collect detailed information about weight stigmatization experiences of men. Step three included content analysis of qualitative data for item generation. In step four, judge’s opinion was taken, and a committee approach was carried out to select the items for the initial form of the scale. Items for final form of the scale were selected through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in step five. For exploratory factor analysis, 150 university students (men = 61, women = 89) were included in the sample, whereas, for confirmatory factor analysis, another group of students (men = 78, women = 72) participated in the study. Principal Component Factor Analysis revealed three meaningful structures including Self-Perception, Perceived Social Rejection, and Perceived Impact containing 43 items. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this factor structure and all 43 items possessed factor loadings greater than .40. Moreover, results indicated that perceived weight stigmatization had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .96) with three subscales having internal consistency .95, .83, and .92 respectively. Therefore, Perceived Weight Stigmatization Scale turned out to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring perception of weight stigma in adults with obesity.


1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1275-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette S. McCullough

Ten humorous television advertisements were shown to 44 Finnish and 68 American university students to investigate whether Freud's two-part humor typology (tendencious/nontendencious) adequately represented the perceptions of both nationalities. Confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the two-type structure for either nationality, and subsequent exploratory factor analysis indicated different humor perceptions for Finns and Americans Second-order factor analysis yielded an aggressive and a nonsense factor, which suggests that the more reductive two-part structure may exist across cultures.


Author(s):  
Jae-Wook Hwang

The purpose of this study was to develop a measurement tool for the interaction between parents and coaches of middle and high school golfers, and to verify its validity. A total of 563 parents participated in the study. Based on the results of preliminary item production, item analysis, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, identification factor analysis, job uniformity analysis, and potential mean comparison analysis, the initial 70 items were constructed according to the conceptualization of parent–coach interactions. The first and second item reduction processes and preliminary surveys were conducted through expert meetings to produce the final 40 items of parent–coach interactions. After eliminating 20 items through question analysis, reliability analysis, and exploratory factor analysis, the final three factors of parent–coach interaction were extracted, and the conformity index for the middle and high school golfers’ parent-to-coach interaction tool was checked. Then, to ensure the external validity of the developed parent–coach interaction measurement tool, a construct equivalence analysis was conducted to demonstrate that the tool can be applied equally to parents and coaches. In summary, the tools for measuring the interaction between the middle and high school golfers’ parents and coaches were developed in 20 questions, three factors for communication, qualification, and support, and it was confirmed that the developed measuring tools could all be applied equally through a latent mean analysis. Parents and coaches are key variables that can affect a player’s performance; thus parents and coaches’ interaction measuring tools can be provide positive information not only for golfers but also for players of various other sports.


Author(s):  
Erva Fatma Tayanc ◽  
Merve Sarıer ◽  
Harun Kamanlı ◽  
Cansu Uysal

The aim of this study was to develop an attitude scale towards flirting violence for university students who study at TED University. 232 university students aged 18-25 in Ankara participated in this study. University Students’ Attitudes Scale Towards Flirting Violence (ASTFV)” is a 5 item Likert type scale. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was used for validity and the results of the factor analysis indicated that the scale explains 62,798 % of the total variance. For reliability Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.938. Findings indicated that the ASTFV was a valid and reliable scale.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Rízia Félix de MELO ◽  
Silvana Carneiro MACIEL ◽  
Marcelo Xavier de OLIVEIRA ◽  
Leoncio Francisco CAMINO ◽  
Thayro Andrade CARVALHO

Abstract The aim of this study was to construct and seek evidence for the validity of the Escala de Benevolência frente à Esquizofrenia (Benevolence Toward Schizophrenia Scale). Two studies were conducted in Joao Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Study 1 describes the development and evidence of the factor validity of the Benevolence Toward Schizophrenia Scale with a sample composed of 200 university students aged 16 to 51 years old (M = 25.31; SD = 7.21). The data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, which revealed one single seven-item factor that explained 37.74% of the variance and a satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha (0.77). The aim of Study 2 was to test the goodness-of-fit of the Benevolence Toward Schizophrenia Scale factor structure with a sample composed of 200 university students aged 16 to 52 years old (M = 24.82; SD = 6.97). The one-factor structure exhibited adequate goodness-of-fit; the composite reliability value was 0.83, which indicates scale stability and satisfactory psychometric parameters for assessing benevolent prejudice toward schizophrenia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elan C. Hope ◽  
Kristen N. Pender ◽  
Kristen N. Riddick

In this article, we describe the development and validation of a measure of orientation toward activism in and for the Black community—the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale (BCAOS)—in a sample of Black adolescents and emerging adults. An exploratory factor analysis ( n = 446) was conducted and the results were a 26-item measure with scores of three internally consistent factors: high-risk, low-risk, and formal political activism orientation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted ( n = 447) and strong model fit estimates confirmed the factor structure of the exploratory factor analysis. Convergent validity was established through bivariate correlations of the BCAOS factors with social responsibility beliefs and nationalist ideology. In light of increased participation in sociopolitical movements in support of Black lives, the BCAOS can contribute to investigations of the psychology of adolescent and emerging adult activism in and for the Black community. We recommend additional scale development research to further contribute to this growing field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanwar Hamza Shuja ◽  
Muhammad Aqeel ◽  
Kainat Raza Khan

Purpose Attaining equality between women and men and eliminating all forms of discrimination are fundamental human rights and United Nations values. Nevertheless, women globally suffer violations of their human rights throughout their lives. This necessitates investigation of the attitude that people hold towards women empowerment, which is defined as their ability to practice their rights, freedom and attain resources within a framework of gender inequality. The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure attitudes regarding women’s empowerment, which can develop better understanding and future interventions to counter these negative attitudes for better social and health care, including mental and physical health. Design/methodology/approach The factorial structure, reliability, content validity and impact of gender on factor structure of scale were examined among university students (N = 500) in study with male (n = 180) and female (n = 320) population. Findings Exploratory factor analysis using direct oblimin method based on principal component analysis indicated a three-factor, 16-item scale including subscales of personal freedom; equal rights and women empowerment-related fears. Instrument exhibited decent reliability (0.80) and content validity in both male and female university students with a t = −7.64, p = 0.00, suggesting a highly significant difference between the two genders on the developed scale. Research limitations/implications The major limitation was that the sample was obtained from student population; therefore, it will not be entirely correct to generalize it to the whole population of Pakistan. Similarly, there are issues regarding the availability of students because of a busy schedule or not having interest to take part in the study that led to variance in the sample. Lastly, the current scale is developed based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and it should be further enhanced using item response theory in future. Future studies need to include samples from different populations in Pakistan to bring out a more generalized view and try to minimize the variances in sample as much as possible for better results. Practical implications The scale is constructed using the basic features of women empowerment at its core and is applicable in various settings to measure the attitude towards women empowerment. It will be a helpful tool to be used in various health, employment and educational settings. Moreover, this instrument can be applied for research purpose of measuring attitude as a predictor in combination with other variables such as domestic violence and harassment. Social implications Empowering of women is one of the main agendas of 2019 of United Nations for Asian countries where women are not given equal rights, because of which suffer socially and economically from various problems along with issues regarding physical and mental health. By identifying the attitudes of general population, their causes for their attitudes can help in betterment of the women empowerment process. Originality/value This paper in discussion is an original work and has been performed with the purpose of assessing attitudes of males and females regarding women empowerment as the previous measures are either not psychometric valid or are in interview or survey form. The current developed scale is an attempt to develop an instrument that can be globally used.


Author(s):  
Kimberly Cervello Rogers ◽  
Robert Petrulis ◽  
Sean P. Yee ◽  
Jessica Deshler

AbstractThis paper presents the development and validation of the 17-item mathematics Graduate Student Instructor Observation Protocol (GSIOP) at two universities. The development of this instrument attended to some unique needs of novice undergraduate mathematics instructors while building on an existing instrument that focused on classroom interactions particularly relevant for students’ development of conceptual understanding, called the Mathematical Classroom Observation Protocol for Practices (MCOP2). Instrument validation involved content input from mathematics education researchers and upper-level mathematics graduate student instructors at two universities, internal consistency analysis, interrater reliability analysis, and structure analyses via scree plot analysis and exploratory factor analysis. A Cronbach-Alpha level of 0.868 illustrated a viable level for internal consistency. Crosstabulation and correlations illustrate high level of interrater reliability for all but one item, and high levels across all subsections. Collaborating a scree plot with the exploratory factor analysis illustrated three critical groupings aligning with the factors from the MCOP2 (student engagement and teacher facilitation) while adding a third factor, lesson design practices. Taken collectively, these results indicate that the GSIOP measures the degree to which instructors’ and students’ actions in undergraduate mathematics classrooms align with practices recommended by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) using a three-factor structure of teacher facilitation, student engagement, and design practices.


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