Attitudes toward statistics scale: validity and reliability study

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to develop a Statistics Attitude Scale to determine the statistics attitudes of university students in social sciences. The data was collected from the students attending to the various programs in Pamukkale University, Faculty of Education, including Social Sciences Education, Science Education, Mathematics Education, Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Psychological Counseling and Guidance. The participants were a total of 450 randomly selected university students (296 female and 154 male). The scale is a 9-point-Likert-type scale with level of agreement varying from "I definitely do not agree" (1) to "I definitely agree" (9). In order to test validity, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The result of the Exploratory factor analysis revealed five dimensions: the Relation of Statistics and Professional Life (7 items), Statistical Anxiety-Fear (9 items), Enjoying Statistics (6 items), the Importance of Statistics (6 items), and Statistical Difficulty Perception (4 items). Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.927 for internal reliability indicating the scale has a high degree of internal reliability. In summary, the Statistics Attitude Scale has both high levels of validity and internal reliability.

C1 [Yasar, Metin] Pamukkale Univ, Egitim Fak, Egitim Bilimleri Bolumu, Egitimde Olcme & Degerlendirme Anabilim Dali, Denizli, Turkey.