Investigating the impact of demographic and academic variables on assessing students' perceived information literacy self-efficacy

This paper explores the demographic and academic variables influencing students' perceived information literacy self-efficacy using Kurbanoglu et al.'s Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ILSES) and its two subscales. An online survey was created to gather data from students which contained Bangla version of the 28-item ILSES together with demographic and academic questions. A printed version of the survey was also distributed to students locally. A total of 408 students participated in the study. The findings revealed that students had moderate self-efficacy, with higher confidence in basic and intermediate-level information literacy (IL) tasks compared to advanced skills. There were significant differences in IL self-efficacy based on students' demographic and academic variables. The results suggest that age and computer proficiency were significantly associated with students' self-efficacy beliefs in information literacy. Overall, the 28-item ILSES and its two smaller subscales yielded similar results, indicating that shorter versions of the ILSES can be utilized to reduce questionnaire completion time without compromising the validity of the results. This study highlights the importance of demographic and academic variables in shaping students' IL self-efficacy beliefs and emphasizes the need for providing adequate support and training to improve information skills among students.     

The Desirability of Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis on Published Scales

This paper advances an argument in favor of conducting and reporting confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on existing and previously validated scales and reporting the findings of those analyses in published research. Previous evidence of scale validity does not necessarily ensure validity in subsequent uses. Instead, scale invariance is best viewed as an empirical question. The case is made that CFA facilitates rather than hinders cross-studies comparisons, and that replication is good scientific practice. Reporting the outcomes of CFA on existing scales provides useful information that facilities knowledge generation and can minimize costly scientific dead-ends.     

Nonlinear Unidimensionality in Communication Science: Tests,Examples, and Implications

The ability to evaluate predictions and theories hinges on accurate, error-free measurement. As a result, communication scientists seek both highly valid and highly reliable measures. Regarding validity claims, specifically, a hypothesis of content validity is typically tested via factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assume a linear relationship between indicators and the underlying construct. Thus, EFA and CFA miss instances of nonlinear unidimensionality, such as those encountered when a scale forms a Guttman Simplex. Given that such a measurement model is not uncommon and is difficult to detect, this article presents a method for testing the hypothesis of content validity when this kind of nonlinear relationship exists between scale items and the construct.     

Examining First- and Second-Order Factor Structures for News Credibility

The construct of news credibility has been of interest to communication scholars for decades, yet researchers have struggled to develop a measure of news credibility that demonstrates a reliable factor structure and construct validity. This study uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and discriminant analysis to evaluate Abdulla and colleagues’ (2004) measure of news credibility. Results indicate that although the factor structure of the measure is replicable, the measure exhibits significant concerns related to discriminant validity. A revised measurement model employing a second-order factor for the news credibility scale that eliminates the discriminant validity concerns is proposed, and the implications of second-order factors in measurement models are discussed.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Scale Validation in Communication Research

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is an under-used and often misunderstood statistical tool. CFA provides useful information about scale dimensionality and validity. This paper offers a brief and accessible introduction to the role of CFA in communication research. Some common issues with CFA including dimensionality and model fit are addressed. More frequent and informed use of CFA would likely improve the quality of measurement in quantitative communication research.     

大学生健康信息规避量表构建研究

[目的/意义]构建稳健而实用的大学生健康信息规避(HIA)量表,以期为有效测度大学生HIA倾向及HIA相关研究提供前期基础,并为健康服务机构和大学生群体合理应对HIA提供有益参考与借鉴。[方法/过程]采用选择性暴露理论和前期调研,开发大学生HIA初步量表;利用初步量表对277名大学生进行施测,对获取的实证数据进行探索性因子分析和验证性因子分析,通过信效度检验后形成大学生HIA正式量表。[结果/结论]大学生HIA具有负面情绪、认知冲突和行为改变的三重结构,总量表重测信度为0.951,3个维度的重测信度在0.871-0.919,具体涉及10个测量项目。     

Determining the Key Dimensions for Evaluating Service Quality and Satisfaction in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Offering quality services and evaluating the rate of success in providing users with target services is the pervasive importance of academic libraries. The central purpose of this study is to determine key dimensions of service quality and satisfaction through developing a new item-scale for evaluating service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries. For primary data collection the study used a 28-item instrument based on five dimensional modified version of SERVQUAL. Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of opinions in the three-columns format: desired service expectation, minimum service expectation, and perception of service performance on a 7-point Likert-type scale. The researcher initially conducted a pilot survey to clarify the overall structure of the questionnaire items to be accepted and used. The reliability of the analysis of data with distinct service attributes were taken from ten public and private university libraries in Bangladesh. Subjecting data obtained to exploratory factor analysis shows that academic library service quality and satisfaction is related to four basic dimensions: caring, competence, resources, and library as a place. Twenty-six service items were identified after extraction through exploratory factor analysis, where nine items were shown before “caring,” five items for “competence,” seven items for “resources,” and five items for “library as a place.” The result in fact provides a generic and robust instrument and recognizes a new item-scale, namely “real service expectation” for the librarians and information science practitioners in the assessment of service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries and in the related fields.     

Refinement of the Classroom Citizenship Behavior Scale

In its original presentation, scores on two of the three subscales of the Classroom Citizenship Behavior scale were highly reliable. Scores on the subscale measuring the third dimension of classroom citizenship behavior, Courtesy, had poor reliability. We inductively derived additional items for the Courtesy subscale and tested structure and reliability of the revised scale. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the scale readily divided into three factors of six items each, consistent with the proposed model. Furthermore, the subscale scores associated with these factors demonstrated high reliability. Next, two additional communication classes completed the revised scale and confirmatory factor analyses were run on the new version of the three-factor scale. Fit indices were good. The revised Classroom Citizenship Behaviors scale provides a stronger tool for investigating student behaviors that contribute to the effective functioning of the classroom environment.     

Lie Acceptability: A Construct and Measure

People likely hold different opinions about deceptive communication. Lie acceptability refers to an individual's attitude about deceptive communication. A self-report measure of lie acceptability was updated and refined, and preliminary data (N = 312) consistent with validity were reported. CFA indicated acceptable fit to the a priori unidimensional model. As anticipated, the lie acceptability scale was positively related to narcissism and negatively associated with religiosity. The scale also predicted likelihood of use ratings of equivocal messages, deceptive omissions, and outright lies. An anticipated sex difference, however, was not replicated. The potential utility of the scale in communication research is discussed.     

中文版信息安全自我效能量表的修订与校验

[目的/意义]鉴于信息安全自我效能量表是用户信息安全能力自我评价的有效度量工具,而国内文献对此尚未有所报道,提出中文版量表并对其可行性进行论证.[方法/过程]以H. S. Rhee编制的信息安全自我效能量表为原型进行中文译注与修订,通过实际调查与统计分析,对中文版量表的区分度、信度、效度等指标进行评定.[结果/结论] 中文版量表具有良好的区分度和内部一致性,其Cronbach信度和Spearman-Brown折半信度值分别为0.870、0.857.量表单维模型的共同因子解释变异量为44.16%,经最大似然验证,结构效度拟合指标符合要求,提示单维模型合理.中文版量表作为一种有效的度量工具,可用于当前信息环境下国内普通用户信息安全自我效能的定量化描述.     

A Correlational Study of Foreign Language Anxiety and Library Anxiety Among Non-native Speakers of English: A Case Study in a Malaysian Public University

This study examines the correlation of the dimensions of foreign language anxiety and library anxiety among undergraduates at a public university in Malaysia. The Malay translated versions of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) were completed by 147 students pursuing a Foundation in Science course. Analysis revealed a significant correlation in all the dimensions of library anxiety with three of the dimensions of foreign language anxiety, namely speaking anxiety, self-evaluation anxiety, and learner anxiety. The findings in this study will enable librarians to be aware of the anxieties faced by students which can help in the planning and delivery of services and instruction.     

It's About Time: The Need for a Journal Devoted to Communication Research Methodologies

Relational entitlement and proprietariness refer to a set of beliefs supporting a view that a romantic partner is analogous to property and can be treated as such. This individual difference is expected to facilitate various forms of coercion and aggression in relationships. A means and covariance structures (MACS) approach within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two independent samples of undergraduate students (N _A = 292, N _B = 317) to cross-validate a previously developed six-factor structure of the Relational Entitlement and Proprietariness (REP) Scale. The analyses successfully validated the REP instrument, evidencing complete measurement invariance across the two samples. Additional tests were performed to explore potential sex differences in the scale. The first-order factor loading pattern of the hierarchical REP structure was largely invariant for the male and female samples. Similarly, the latent mean structure was equivalent for men and women with the exception of 13 observed measures. The findings of this study evidence that the REP measure is a factorially stable and reliable instrument to assess male and female relational entitlement and proprietariness behaviors.     

An Investigation of Service Expectations: Developing and Validating an Alternative Scale for Service Quality Assessment in Academic Libraries

The article provides an overview of the expectations and perceptions of library service quality from university students in Bangladesh. A modified version of the five dimensional SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from the universities. Respondents were asked to indicate their opinion on three columns, i.e., desired, minimum, and perception of service performance using 28 service items. It was found that the students’ desired expectation for services is unreasonably high. The study, therefore, made an effort to examine the sources of their expectation to develop and validate an alternative item-scale for service quality assessment. The results indicate that the students’ expectation sources had a significant impact on their opinion on service quality. A large proportion of students felt that their expectation for quality services is their right. This led them to rate higher desired expectation score for services. It suggests that user's desired service expectation is unrealistic and is not reliable for quality measurement. Based on this, the study argues that the prior scales of service quality assessment, particularly the calculation of the gap difference between perception of service performance and desired service expectation cannot produce a realistic result. An alternative item-scale, called real service expectation, was developed to calculate the gap score between perception of service performance and real service expectations. The computation of real service expectation, and the corresponding gap analysis could provide a new strategic direction for service quality assessment in academic libraries.     

Further Validity Tests of the Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale

The purpose of this study was to further validate the newly developed Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale (GRAS). To that end, young adult grandchildren (N = 317) completed the GRAS, along with two previously established measures of affectionate communication and a social desirability scale. The results of a series of Pearson correlational analyses and an exploratory factor analysis provide support for the concurrent, construct, and divergent validity of the GRAS. Thus, the GRAS is an appropriate instrument to assess grandchildren's received affectionate communication from their grandparents.     

Student Academic Support: A Validity Test

Given the significant support system changes that students often experience at the university level, college students often view fellow students as their primary source of academic support. This study offers validity evidence for the Student Academic Support Scale (SASS), a 15-item, multidimensional measure that assesses informational, esteem, motivational, and venting support. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the SASS revealed close model fit, replicated prior CFA tests (Thompson & Mazer, 2009 Thompson , B. , & Mazer , J. P. ( 2009 ). College student ratings of student academic support: Frequency, importance, and modes of communication . Communication Education , 58 , 433 – 458 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and ultimately provided additional evidence for content validity. More important, correlations between student academic support, student motivation, affective learning, and engagement suggest that the SASS construct is related to other theoretically similar constructs, providing initial evidence for construct validity. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Evaluation of the speech dialect attitudinal scale

Listener groups employed the Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale (SDAS) to rate speakers in a variety of situations. These involved: (A) foreign accent, (B) regional dialect, (C) speech pathology, (D) broadcast news reporting, and (E) use of obscene language. Reliability of ratings was consistently high, with a median of .98. Evidence of construct validity was provided by the factor structures of SDAS item scores. Except in the case of the speech pathology experiment, the factor analyses yielded a remarkably consistent three‐factor structure: Socio‐Intellectual Status, Aesthetic Quality, and Dynamism. In each case, analyses of variance and covariance of SDAS scores discriminated among speakers differentiated by linguistic variation, further supporting the validity of SDAS data.     

Meta-analytic evidence for the persuasive effect of narratives on beliefs,attitudes, intentions,and behaviors

Although narratives are often credited with the capacity to change opinions, empirical tests of this prediction have produced mixed results. To provide a more precise test of narrative's effect on beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, we performed meta-analyses on studies that evaluated narrative's persuasive influence on these outcomes. Results suggested positive relationships between exposure to a narrative and narrative-consistent beliefs (k?=?37; N?=?7,376; r?=?.17), attitudes (k?=?40; N?=?7,132; r?=?.19), intentions (k?=?28; N?=?5,211; r?=?.17), and behaviors (k?=?5; N?=?978; r?=?.23). Moderator analyses on the effect of fictionality yielded mixed results. Neither medium of presentation nor research design influenced the magnitude of the narrative-persuasion relationship. However, results suggested the presence of unidentified moderators.     

Emotions Management Skills and Barriers with Library Staff: A Correlational Survey of Agriculture Students

The literature has identified barriers with library staff as one of the important barriers affecting academic activities of students and also recognized the relationship of various academic and demographic characteristics of students with it. The emotions management skills of students may be one of the possible correlates of the barriers with library staff. This study was designed to investigate the levels of barriers with library staff and emotions management skills as well as their possible correlation using two standardized scales. The data were collected from the final year undergraduate agriculture students. The results confirmed the existence of barriers with library staff among the participants of both genders experiencing the same level of anxiety. The participants scored 3.75 (average) on the emotions management scale. The results also revealed significantly negative correlation between emotions management skills and barriers with library staff among these students. These results have many practical implications in the sphere of academic librarianship.     

信息搜寻行为量表对中国大学生的适用性探讨

为引进信息搜寻行为量表并分析该量表的信度、效度,评估其在中国大学生中的适用性,随机选取200名医学专业大学生进行包括30个题项的信息搜寻行为量表的测试,其中20名学生两周后进行了重测。结果显示信息搜寻行为量表的Cronbach’s alphα系数为0.872,分半信度为0.835,重测信度为0.876;各分量表的信度均在可接受的范围内,信度指标良好;各题项与量表总分的相关性显著,各分量表之间及其与总量表之间均呈显著相关,该量表的内容效度与结构效度良好。研究表明,此量表具有良好的测量学指标,可以作为中国大学生信息搜寻能力研究的有效测量工具。     

Convergent validity of bibliometric Google Scholar data in the field of chemistry—Citation counts for papers that were accepted by Angewandte Chemie International Edition or rejected but published elsewhere,using Google Scholar,Science Citation Index,Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts

Examining a comprehensive set of papers (n = 1837) that were accepted for publication by the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition (one of the prime chemistry journals in the world) or rejected by the journal but then published elsewhere, this study tested the extent to which the use of the freely available database Google Scholar (GS) can be expected to yield valid citation counts in the field of chemistry. Analyses of citations for the set of papers returned by three fee-based databases – Science Citation Index, Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts – were compared to the analysis of citations found using GS data. Whereas the analyses using citations returned by the three fee-based databases show very similar results, the results of the analysis using GS citation data differed greatly from the findings using citations from the fee-based databases. Our study therefore supports, on the one hand, the convergent validity of citation analyses based on data from the fee-based databases and, on the other hand, the lack of convergent validity of the citation analysis based on the GS data.