Assessing the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the stages of concern questionnaire

Abstract

Problem Statement: The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) was developed to provide a quick-scoring measure of stages of concern and is applicable to almost any educational innovation. Although the SoCQ has been used in many studies, little critical analysis of the questiomiaire has been attempted since its initial validation. Since the SoCQ construct might be specific to innovation, it must be validated during its administration in developing countries. Purpose of Study: This study is intended to adapt the SoCQ to a Turkish context by means of assessing the reliability and validity of this questionnaire. Methodology: The participants for this study were 621 faculty members of eight schools at a major university in Turkey. Iterated principal factor analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used for the analyses of this study. For the reliability of the questionnaire, cronbach alpha coefficient was used. Findings: The reliability for four of the seven stages was low (<.70), and the intercorrelational matrix did not provide support the hypothesized relationships among the stages. Reorganized and shortened versions of the questionnaire suggested a reconceptualization of the original model. The four modified stages of concern (SoC) were labeled as follows: (1) Awareness, (2) Informational, (3) Impact, and (4) Collaboration. The four-stage 16-item model had alpha reliability estimates of .82 for Awareness, .75 for Informational, .66 for Impact, and .75 for Collaboration. Recommendations: The four-stage model that is proposed in this study is intended to prompt researchers to give greater attention to psychometric and conceptual issues when using the SoCQ in different cultural contexts. A replication of the present study in different countries is worthwhile to detect any cultural differences. A larger sample that includes different institutions in the same context should be surveyed to gain a greater understanding of the perceptions of faculty with different educational concerns.