scholarly journals Assessing Teacher and Librarian Collaboration: A Preliminary Report

Author(s):  
Patricia Montiel-Overall

Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of a 32-item teacher and librarian collaboration survey (TLC-II). The survey consisted of two scales with 16 items in each scale, Frequency and Importance to Student Learning. Scores from teacher surveys (N=194) were examined using principal axis factoring and oblique rotation to identify underlying constructs. A four factor interpretable structure of teacher and librarian collaboration emerged providing support for a proposed model of teacher and librarian collaboration. Internal consistency was high for the overall scale and for each of the factors. The results of this study provide a basis for further refinement of the instrument in preparation for broad distribution among teachers and librarians.

2020 ◽  
pp. 000348942096563
Author(s):  
Haytham Kubba ◽  
William M. Whitmer

Objective: Patient-reported outcomes can be useful for reporting benefit from non-life-saving interventions, but often they report a single overall score, which means that much information on the specific areas of benefit is lost. Our aim was to perform a new factor analysis on the Glasgow Children’s Benefit Inventory (GCBI) to create subscales reflecting domains of benefit. Further aims were to assess the internal consistency of the GCBI, and to develop guidelines for reporting both a total score and sub-scales in future studies. Methods: We collected 4 existing datasets of GCBI data from children who have undergone tonsillectomy, ventilation tube insertion, pinnaplasty, and submucous diathermy to the inferior turbinates. We performed exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factoring with varimax rotation, we sought redundancy in question items, and we measured internal consistency. Results: Using the combined dataset of 772 cases, we found 4 factors which accounted for 64% of the variance and which we have labeled “Psycho-social,” “Physical health,” “Behavior,” and “Vitality.” Subscale results varied in predictable ways depending on the nature of the intervention. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.928. Item-total correlations were high, and no item could be deleted to improve alpha. Floor effects were apparent for various questions but were not consistent between different interventions. Conclusions: The GCBI contains a range of questions which each add value in different clinical interventions. We can now make recommendations for reporting the results of the GCBI and its 4 new subscales.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wannes Ribbens ◽  
Steven Malliet

A quantitative exploration is presented of the concept of perceived digital game realism, based upon the frameworks described by Malliet (2006), and Shapiro, Peña-Herborn, and Hancock (2006). The concepts and categories outlined in both studies are complemented with an additional literature study and subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. Principal axis factoring was performed on items completed by 385 respondents whose ages ranged between 15 and 19 years. Seven factors of perceived game realism were identified: simulation, freedom of choice, character involvement, perceptual pervasiveness, authenticity regarding subject matter, authenticity regarding characters, and social realism. These findings are to a considerable extent congruent with the theoretical framework.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Horn ◽  
Kanykey Jailobaeva ◽  
Stella Arakelyan ◽  
Alastair Ager

Abstract Background Studies of psychological distress in Sierra Leone have typically used measures which were developed for use in other contexts, and which often have not been adapted or validated for use in Sierra Leone. This has resulted in a lack of reliable information about the patterns of psychological distress within the population, which is a barrier to the development of effective and appropriate mental health services. The aim of the study was to develop a locally-appropriate measure of psychological distress for Sierra Leone. Methods The new measure consists of two instruments: the Sierra Leone Psychological Distress Scale (SLPDS) and a gendered measure of ability to carry out daily tasks—a Function scale—as an indication of the severity of distress. A three-phase mixed methods exploratory sequential study was conducted. Phase 1 was item generation and testing, leading to the development of a set of potential items for both instruments. Phase 2 was a small pilot study (N = 202) leading to the selection of the final set of items for both measures. Phase 3 was a validation phase where the SLPDS and the Function scale were administered with a larger sample of 904 respondents. Item analysis was used to assess the internal consistency of the scales, and Exploratory Factor Analysis to explore the properties of the SLPDS. Results Exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis factoring with an oblique rotation identified a three-factor structure for the 18-item SLPDS. Internal consistency for the SLPDS (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and three subscales was good (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.73). The internal reliability of the male and female versions of the Function scale was also found to be acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90 for the female scale and 0.79 for the male scale). Conclusions Together the SLPD and Function scales provide a locally-validated tool which will enable government bodies and local and international non-governmental organisations in Sierra Leone to assess mental health and psychosocial needs. This will support both effective service provision and the evaluation of initiatives designed to improve mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1251-1251
Author(s):  
Anthony J Longoria ◽  
Ben K Mokhtari ◽  
Tawny Meredith-Duliba ◽  
Mary A Hershberger ◽  
Patricia Champagne ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Self-report scales are commonly used to evaluate non-specific symptoms following concussion. While several scales have been developed, few were created using a systematic process and most contain several ambiguous items that may be misinterpreted. To address this, a new theoretically-based, multidimensional measure was designed to assess Cognitive, Neuropsychiatric, and Somatic symptoms associated with concussion. This study used sophisticated psychometric techniques to develop the Texas Postconcussion Symptom Inventory (TPSI) and establish initial reliability and validity. Method Because concussion symptoms are non-specific, a pool of 76 potential items was developed and administered to a diverse clinical sample (N = 350) that included patients with concussion, epilepsy, and dementia. Polychoric correlations were utilized to remove items based on poor fit/multicollinearity and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with an Oblimin rotation was used to determine factor structure. Results A three-factor model best fit the data, and represented Cognitive, Neuropsychiatric, and Somatic domains as designed. Ten items were discarded, resulting in a total of 66 items. The model explained 48.5% of the total variance and contained adequate sampling (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure =0.92) and sufficient item correlations (Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity, p < 0.05) for EFA. All three factor structures displayed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α > 0.88). Conclusions The TPSI is a brief, multidimensional measure with evidence of strong internal consistency and reliability as well as distinct Cognitive, Neuropsychiatric, and Somatic symptoms associated with concussion. Future research will investigate its convergent and divergent validity in concussion as compared to existing popular symptom measures.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 1033-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yfke P. Ongena ◽  
Marieke Haan ◽  
Derya Yakar ◽  
Thomas C. Kwee

Abstract Objectives The patients’ view on the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology is still mainly unexplored territory. The aim of this article is to develop and validate a standardized patient questionnaire on the implementation of AI in radiology. Methods Six domains derived from a previous qualitative study were used to develop a questionnaire, and cognitive interviews were used as pretest method. One hundred fifty-five patients scheduled for CT, MRI, and/or conventional radiography filled out the questionnaire. To find underlying latent variables, we used exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factoring and oblique promax rotation. Internal consistency of the factors was measured with Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Results The exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors on AI in radiology: (1) distrust and accountability (overall, patients were moderately negative on this subject), (2) procedural knowledge (patients generally indicated the need for their active engagement), (3) personal interaction (overall, patients preferred personal interaction), (4) efficiency (overall, patients were ambiguous on this subject), and (5) being informed (overall, scores on these items were not outspoken within this factor). Internal consistency was good for three factors (1, 2, and 3), and acceptable for two (4 and 5). Conclusions This study yielded a viable questionnaire to measure acceptance among patients of the implementation of AI in radiology. Additional data collection with confirmatory factor analysis may provide further refinement of the scale. Key Points • Although AI systems are increasingly developed, not much is known about patients’ views on AI in radiology. • Since it is important that newly developed questionnaires are adequately tested and validated, we did so for a questionnaire measuring patients’ views on AI in radiology, revealing five factors. • Successful implementation of AI in radiology requires assessment of social factors such as subjective norms towards the technology.


2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo de Paula Lima ◽  
Sandhi Maria Barreto ◽  
Ada Ávila Assunção

INTRODUCTION: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder resulting from exposure to traumatic events. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) is a self-report measure largely used to evaluate the presence of PTSD. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the internal consistency, temporal reliability and factor validity of the Portuguese language version of the PCL used in Brazil. METHODS: A total of 186 participants were recruited. The sample was heterogeneous with regard to occupation, sociodemographic data, mental health history, and exposure to traumatic events. Subjects answered the PCL at two occasions within a 15 days’ interval (range: 5-15 days). RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha coefficients indicated high internal consistency for the total scale (0.91) and for the theoretical dimensions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) (0.83, 0.81, and 0.80). Temporal reliability (test-retest) was high and consistent for different cutoffs. Maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted and oblique rotation (Promax) was applied. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index (0.911) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ² = 1,381.34, p < 0.001) indicated that correlation matrices were suitable for factor analysis. The analysis yielded three symptom clusters which accounted for 48.9% of the variance, namely, intrusions, avoidance, and numbing-hyperarousal. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide additional data regarding the psychometric properties of the PCL, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and factor validity. Results are discussed in relation to PTSD theoretical models.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin R. Baughman ◽  
Ruth Ludwick ◽  
Rebecca Fischbein ◽  
Kenelm McCormick ◽  
James Meeker ◽  
...  

Background: Although patients prefer that physicians initiate advance care planning (ACP) conversations, few physicians regularly do so. Physicians may be reluctant to initiate ACP conversations because they lack self-efficacy in their skills. Yet, no validated scale on self-efficacy for ACP exists. Our objective was to develop a scale that measures physicians’ ACP self-efficacy (ACP-SE) and to investigate the validity of the tool. Methods: Electronic questionnaires were administered to a random sample of family medicine physicians (n = 188). Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine whether the scale was multidimensional. An initial assessment of the scale’s validity was also conducted. Results: The exploratory factor analysis indicated that a single factor was appropriate using all 17 items. A single, unidimensional scale was created by averaging the 17 items, yielding good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.95). The average scale score was 3.94 (standard deviation = 0.71) on a scale from 1 to 5. The scale was moderately correlated with a global single-item measure of self-efficacy for ACP ( r = .79, P < .001), and the scale differentiated between physician groups based on how much ACP they were doing, how recently they had an ACP conversation, formal training on ACP, and knowledge of ACP. In a multivariate analysis, the ACP-SE scale was a strong predictor of the percentage of patients with chronic life-limiting diseases with whom the physician discussed ACP. Conclusion: The final ACP-SE scale included 17 items and demonstrated high internal consistency.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine J. Reel ◽  
Sonya SooHoo ◽  
Trent A. Petrie ◽  
Christy Greenleaf ◽  
Jennifer E. Carter

Previous research with female athletes has yielded equivocal findings when comparing disordered eating rates to nonathlete populations, but the rates differ for athletes in leanness and nonleanness sports (Sherman & Thompson, 2009). The purpose of the current study was to develop a measure to assess sport-specific weight pressures for female athletes. Secondly, this study identified frequencies of weight, size, and appearance pressures across sports. Participants (N =204) were female Division I athletes from three universities who represented 17 sports. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor solution for the 16-item Weight Pressures in Sport for Females (WPS-F) scale with strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.90). The most frequently reported pressures among female college athletes were teammates (36.8%), uniform (34.3%), and coach (33.8%). These findings are discussed in comparison with previous research along with clinical and research implications for using the WPS-F in sport psychology settings.


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