A Categorical Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Validating the Turkish Version of the Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS-T)
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| Title: | A Categorical Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Validating the Turkish Version of the Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS-T) |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hongwei Yang, Müslim Alanoglu, Songül Karabatak, Jian Su, Kelly Bradley |
| Source: | International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. 2025 26(1):216-236. |
| Availability: | Athabasca University Press. 1200, 10011-109 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8, Canada. Tel: 780-497-3412; Fax: 780-421-3298; e-mail: irrodl@athabascau.ca; Web site: http://www.irrodl.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 21 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Factor Analysis, Translation, Student Attitudes, Independent Study, Electronic Learning, Media Adaptation, Construct Validity, Sex, Prior Learning, Instructional Program Divisions, Undergraduate Students, Access to Internet |
| Geographic Terms: | Turkey |
| ISSN: | 1492-3831 |
| Abstract: | This study developed and validated the Turkish version of the Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS-T) for assessing students' perceptions of their self-directed learning (SDL) ability in an online environment. Specifically, this study conducted in two stages multiple categorical confirmatory factor analyses factoring in the ordered categorical structure of the SDOLS-T data. The data in this study came from a parent study which utilized the SDOLS-T and other instruments for data collection. From among the three competing models the literature recommends examining to explain the shared variance of items in a survey, the results at stage 1 showed that the correlated, two-factor structure, originally proposed for the SDOLS, was also the best-fit model for the SDOLS-T. At stage 2, using the best-fit model from stage 1, measurement invariance analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which SDL under the SDOLS-T was understood and measured equivalently across the groups specified by four dichotomous demographic variables: gender, network connection, online learning experience, and grade. The stage 2 results indicate the SDOLS-T reached scalar invariance at least for gender and network connection, thus allowing the comparison of latent or manifest means, or any other scores (e.g., total scores, Rasch scores), across the groups by these two demographic variables. In the end, the findings support the SDOLS-T for use in facilitating educational practice (e.g., improving instructional design), advancing scholarly literature (e.g., investigating SDL measurement and content area issues), and informing policy/decision-making (e.g., increasing retention rates and reducing dropout) in online education in Turkey. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1463752 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This study developed and validated the Turkish version of the Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS-T) for assessing students' perceptions of their self-directed learning (SDL) ability in an online environment. Specifically, this study conducted in two stages multiple categorical confirmatory factor analyses factoring in the ordered categorical structure of the SDOLS-T data. The data in this study came from a parent study which utilized the SDOLS-T and other instruments for data collection. From among the three competing models the literature recommends examining to explain the shared variance of items in a survey, the results at stage 1 showed that the correlated, two-factor structure, originally proposed for the SDOLS, was also the best-fit model for the SDOLS-T. At stage 2, using the best-fit model from stage 1, measurement invariance analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which SDL under the SDOLS-T was understood and measured equivalently across the groups specified by four dichotomous demographic variables: gender, network connection, online learning experience, and grade. The stage 2 results indicate the SDOLS-T reached scalar invariance at least for gender and network connection, thus allowing the comparison of latent or manifest means, or any other scores (e.g., total scores, Rasch scores), across the groups by these two demographic variables. In the end, the findings support the SDOLS-T for use in facilitating educational practice (e.g., improving instructional design), advancing scholarly literature (e.g., investigating SDL measurement and content area issues), and informing policy/decision-making (e.g., increasing retention rates and reducing dropout) in online education in Turkey. |
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| ISSN: | 1492-3831 |
