Validity and reliability study on the evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children

SEMANUR CÖMERT

Validity and reliability study on the evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children

Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Gazi University, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Turkey

Approval Date: 2014

Thesis Language: Turkish

Student: SEMANUR CÖMERT

Supervisor: GÜLHAN GÜVEN

Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection

Abstract:

Since the computer usage has rapidly increased in recent years, there is a huge need for researches about its effects on children. This research focuses on the validity and reliability study of "The evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children" which is implemented by the researcher, as there is no other scaling tool applied to this domain. While the population of the research is made up of the parents of 493 48-60 month-old children who attend independent kindergartens in the city center of the province of Tokat, in the second semester of 2012-2013 academic year, the sample consists of the parents of 196 children. The research employs quantitative data. These data were collected using "Personal Information Form" and "The evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children" which were devised by the researcher. The scale features 60 points, which are categorized under two main titles which differentiate the positive and the negative impacts of computer usage. While 31 points were dedicated to the positive effects of computer usage, 29 were spared for the negative effects of computer usage. Validity and credibility analyses were carried out using the data obtained from "The evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children" form. Expert opinions were evaluated in order to determine the content validity of the scale. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was calculated to find out the construct validity. The Cronbach Alpha reliability co-efficient was also calculated to decide its reliability. As a result of this research, the KMO test results are drawn as .92 with .90 and the Bartlett Sphericity Test is found as (p<0.01) for the two sub-dimensions. It appeared that factor analysis could be applied to the scale. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis on the scale, a structure of 60 points and 2 factors is obtained. The validity of the scale appears quite high. The credibility of the scale in terms of the internal consistency is studied with the Alpha co-efficient. The Alpha co-efficient for both the positive and the negative sub-categories was elicited as ,96. While these values are quite close to 1, the credibility of the scale is quite high. The valid data in the scale form were transferred to the computer and the analysis was carried out on SPSS 19.0 program. As a result of the research, it was found out that the two sub-dimensions and total score obtained from "The evaluation scale of the impacts of computer usage on 48-60 month-old children" do not vary according to the gender of the children, sibling number, mother's age, mother's and father's educational background. However, the negative impact sub-dimensions of the mother's age and educational background create a meaningful difference of .05.