The Development and Validation of a Preliminary Research Form of an Academic Self-Concept Measure for College Students

Abstract

The development and construct validation of a preliminary research form of an academic self-concept measure for college students are described. Entitled Dimensions of Self-Concept (DOSC), Form H, this instrument has been anchored to a theoretical framework comprising five constructs, for each of which a factor subscale constitutes an operational definition. The statistical data arising from administration of both an initial form and a preliminary research form are reviewed. The 25-item subscales in the initial form afforded reliability (coefficient alpha) estimates varying between .85 and .90; the 20-item subscales of the preliminary research form furnished parallel estimates of reliability ranging from .83 to .91. It was concluded that this second form shows promising construct validity, as evidenced by the fact that the five constructs within the theoretical framework when translated into five subscales received substantial empirical support in terms of the factor structure realized. The psychometric data for a third shortened form with 16 items per subscale will be reported in the near future.