Construct validity and psychometric properties of the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale among university students: A study using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the construct validity and psychometric properties of the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale among university students using an integrated psychometric approach that combines exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in line with contemporary measurement standards. The study assumed that scale validity cannot be inferred solely from theoretical formulation but must be supported by empirical and statistical evidence. A descriptive–correlational design was employed, and the Arabic version of the scale was administered to a sample of 438 university students following translation, cultural adaptation, and expert review. The procedures included examining preliminary psychometric properties, conducting exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying factor structure, and performing confirmatory factor analysis to assess model fit and estimate factor loadings. The results revealed a stable factorial structure and satisfactory fit indices, indicating acceptable levels of construct validity and reliability. Overall, the findings support the suitability of the scale for research and applied use in higher education contexts.
References
• American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association.
• Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (3rd ed.). Routledge.
• Cohen, J. (1998). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Fabrigar, L. R., & Wegener, D. T. (2012). Exploratory factor analysis. Oxford University Press.
• Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction (The Delphi Report). American Philosophical Association.
• Facione, P. A. (1992). California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI): Manual. California Academic Press.
• Facione, P. A., Facione, N. C., & Giancarlo, C. A. F. (2000). The disposition toward critical thinking: Its character, measurement, and relationship to critical thinking skill. Informal Logic, 20(1), 61–84.
• Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
• Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
• Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
• Kaiser, H. F. (1960). The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 141–151.
• Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika, 39(1), 31–36.
• Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
• Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2016). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Routledge.
• Stevens, J. P. (2009). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (5th ed.). Routledge.
• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
1. The Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if accepted for publication, copyright of the article shall be assigned to Al-Qadisiyah Journal For Humanities scinces (QJHS), University of Al-Qadisiyah as publisher of the journal.
2. Copyright encompasses exclusive rights to reproduce and deliver the article in all form and media, including reprints, photographs, microfilms and any other similar reproductions, as well as translations. The reproduction of any part of this journal, its storage in databases and its transmission by any form or media, such as electronic, electrostatic and mechanical copies, photocopies, recordings, magnetic media, etc. , will be allowed only with a written permission from Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Humanities scinces (QJHS), University of Al-Qadisiyah.
3. Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Humanities scinces (QJHS) , University of Al-Qadisiyah, the Editors and the Advisory International Editorial Board make every effort to ensure that no wrong or misleading data, opinions or statements be published in the journal. In any way, the contents of the articles and advertisements published in the journal Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Humanities scinces (QJHS), University of Al-Qadisiyah are sole and exclusive responsibility of their respective authors and advertisers.
