| Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to understand the development process of a research instrument. | |||
| Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to understand how to examine the psychometric properties of an instrument. |
Methods: This is a longitudinal study. The Student Satisfaction Scale (SSS) was developed to gather students' perceptions of satisfaction with the nursing program at the Department of Nursing in a moderate-sized college. For the development stage, 51 and 46 nursing students were recruited at school in each end of two semesters, respectively. Q methodology, focused faculty review, content validity, internal consistency reliability, item analysis, and construct validity were implemented to develop the SSS's psychometrics. A pilot test was implemented in order to revise any ambiguity of question items.
Outcomes: The SSS using 6-point Likert scale scores from 1 (not satisfied at all) to 6 (very satisfied). The original 47-item SSS was examined through Q sorting, focused faculty review, and an expert panel review and were shortened into 31 items with four subscales including curriculum, faculty, social interaction, and environment. For item analysis, the results of interitem and item-total correlation coefficients of all items were greater than .30 and less than .80. A principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was performed and extracted four factors explaining 58.7% of the variance in the overall student satisfaction. The Cronbach's alphas of the total and each subscale ranged from .84 to .93.
Discussion: The SSS demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Knowledge of research instrument development was gained for future research. Consistent studies in examining the SSS's reliability and validity to assess its stability and sensitivity for change across time are recommended.