Development of a New Inventory of Attitude towards Statistics among Postgraduate Students

Abstract

Introduction: Statistics is often viewed negatively based on our experience and also conducted studies. As statistics is an important component of postgraduate studies, it is important to assess attitude towards statistics to enable appropriate improvement in teaching of statistics. To our knowledge, currently there is no inventory specifically targeted at postgraduate students. Preexisting inventories are unsatisfactory due to different target population, weak theory, lack of confirmatory analysis and parceling issue. Objective: To develop a new inventory constructed in English measuring attitude towards statistics among postgraduate students. Methods: Delphi technique was used in the development of the inventory. The process was conducted in five rounds; 1. Identification of domains on attitude towards statistics from experts. 2. Verification of identified domains. 3. Defining the domains. 4. Identification of relevant and representative items for each domain. 5. Final verification of domains and items. Results: Three domains based on tripartite theory of attitude (affect, behavior, cognition) were agreed upon by three experts considering relevant literatures, inventories and experience. Suitable definition for the domains were provided in relation to statistics. A total of 58 items were agreed upon by the three experts and an invited expert not involved in first four rounds, considering their relevancy and representativeness: Affect (22 items), behaviour (17 items) and cognition (19 items). The resulting inventory was named as USM-AS that stands for Universiti Sains Malaysia's Attitude towards Statistics. Conclusion: USM-AS is considered a potential inventory to measure attitude towards statistics that requires further study of its construct validity and reliability.

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Author Information
Wan Nor Arifin, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Mohamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Aniza Abd Aziz, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Hazwan Mat Din, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Sarimah Abdullah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

• Category: Disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches, including - Psychology and sociology of education

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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