Designing a Questionnaire to Measure Threats and Opportunities of E-Learning and Determining its Psychometric properties

E-learning environment is one of the most common learning environments in the information era. Therefore، recognizing its associated threats and opportunities is of the highest priority. The main purpose of this study was to design a questionnaire to measure e-learning threats and opportunities and determining its psychometric properties.

The present study was a sequential exploratory design with qualitative-quantitative approach conducted in two steps in the second semester of the year 2013 in Guilan University of Medical Sciences. First، e-learning and its related threats and opportunities were defined based on a purposeful sampling and individual semi-structured interviews with 9 instructors and 7 students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences who had experience of e-learning using a qualitative content analysis. Next، a questionnaire was designed، using the data obtained in step one. Then the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were determined regarding the face، content and construct validities and the internal consistency with 109 participants (44 teachers and 65 students). To determine construct validity، the exploratory factor analysis method was used. The qualitative data were analyzed through MAXQDAver. 2010 and the quantitative data were analyzed through SPSSver. 19.

After determining the face and content validities both quantitatively and qualitatively، we reduced the number of items in the questionnaire from 101 to 29. The maximum overall variance (30. 78 %) was defined by the first 3 factors and the rest (69. 22 %) was defined by the other 26 factors. The result of exploratory factor analysis in this study identified three factors: cost-learning efficacy; mental-emotional and communicational instructor-student factors; and factors related to teaching-learning. Finally، 28 items were maintained in 3 factors (α = 0. 81).

Considering the desirable validity and reliability of the questionnaire designed based on the students and instructors’ experiences، this instrument is suitable for examination of the e-learning threats and opportunities.