Anxiety Scale for Distance Education (ASDE)

Abstract

The Anxiety Scale for Distance Education (ASDE), developed by Ramazanoğlu, Çetin, and Uluyol in 2024, is a specialized psychometric instrument designed to quantify anxiety experienced by university students engaging in distance education settings. Initially comprising 26 items derived from comprehensive literature review and expert consultation, the final version was refined using data collected across four distinct samples. The finalized scale features 17 items distributed across three core dimensions: Readiness for the Profession Anxiety, Social Anxiety, and Privacy Concern. Comprehensive validation studies confirmed the measure’s robust psychometric properties, demonstrating strong evidence of both reliability and validity for use within this specific student population.

Keywords

Anxiety Levels, Distance Education, Divergent Validity, Face Validity, Privacy Concern, Readiness for the Profession Anxiety, Social Anxiety, University Students, Psychometrics, Scale Development.

Authors

Ramazanoğlu, Mehmet; Çetin, Ali; Uluyol, Çelebi

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ASDE is to specifically assess and measure the anxiety levels experienced by university students who are participating in educational programs delivered through a distance education modality. This instrument addresses the unique stressors inherent in non-traditional learning environments, focusing on concerns ranging from professional preparedness to social interaction and data security.

Construct

The ASDE measures the overarching psychological construct of Distance Education Anxiety. This construct is operationalized through three distinct, yet related, sub-dimensions that capture the multifaceted nature of anxiety experienced in virtual learning environments.

The three established dimensions are:

• Readiness for the Profession Anxiety: Concerns related to professional preparedness and competence stemming from the remote learning experience.
• Social Anxiety: Fears and discomfort associated with communication and interaction with instructors or peers in a virtual setting.
• Privacy Concern: Worry regarding the security and use of personal data and digital identity within the electronic learning platform.

Validity

Extensive validation procedures were conducted to establish the psychometric soundness of the ASDE. Construct validity was strongly supported through the results of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, confirming that the scale measures the intended theoretical structure of three factors.

Furthermore, convergent validity was established, indicating a high degree of correlation among items intended to measure the same construct. This was evidenced by Composite Reliability coefficients ranging from .82 to .92, and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values falling between .50 and .65, both exceeding standard thresholds. Divergent validity was also confirmed, as the correlations observed among the three factors were consistently lower than the square roots of their respective AVEs, suggesting that the factors are distinct constructs.

Finally, concurrent validity was supported by demonstrating positive, albeit small, correlations between the ASDE total score and scores on the Turkish Online Privacy Concern Scale (OPCS), validating its relationship with related measures of online concern.

Reliability

The ASDE demonstrated excellent internal consistency, a key measure of test reliability. For the overall scale, Cronbach’s alpha was reported as .89, indicating high internal consistency across all 17 items, exceeding the generally accepted threshold for robust psychological scales.

Reliability estimates for the individual factors were also consistently high across the analytical methods used. In the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the three factors was .83, .80, and .89, respectively. In the subsequent Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the reported alphas were .91, .85, .82, and .91 across the factors (potentially including the overall scale score in the reporting), further reinforcing the reliability of the subscales.

Factor Analysis

The scale development utilized a rigorous two-step process involving both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to establish the dimensional structure of the Distance Education Anxiety construct.

The EFA confirmed a robust three-factor structure consisting of 17 items, which collectively accounted for 51.09% of the total variance observed. This initial analysis supported the theoretical framework derived from the literature.

Subsequently, the CFA was performed to confirm the factor structure’s fit to the data. After minor modifications, the model yielded acceptable fit indices, demonstrating the structural validity of the scale: χ²/df = 342.25, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .94, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = .93, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .07, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = .06. These indices confirm that the three-factor model provides a good fit for the empirical data, confirming the scale’s construct validity.

Instrument

Test Type: Inventory/Questionnaire (17 items)

Format: Items are measured using a five-point Likert format, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The scale is administered electronically, typically via online survey tools.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: University Students

Population Details: The validation study was conducted on University Students located in Turkey, who were enrolled in distance education programs.

Test Methodology: The development process employed advanced psychometric techniques including: Test Validity, Concurrent Validity, Construct Validity, Convergent Validity, Discriminant Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Educational Anxiety, Online Learning, University Students, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Internal Consistency, Privacy Concern, Social Anxiety, Test Reliability, Psychometric Scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Çetin, Ali: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1174-6997

Affiliation Email addresses: The corresponding author is Mehmet Ramazanoğlu.

Correspondence Address: Ramazanoğlu, Mehmet: [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The ASDE was published in 2024. The scale is reported as non-commercial and is available without a fee. Users should refer to the original publication for specific usage permissions and citation requirements.

Reference’s

Ramazanoğlu, M., Çetin, A., & Uluyol, Ç. (2024). Anxiety scale for distance education: Development and validation. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(10), 2057–2070. DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2023.2237607.

No separate file or PDF download is available for this instrument based on the source data.

Items of the Anxiety Scale for Distance Education (ASDE)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Note