Academic Communication Inventory (ACI)

Abstract

The Academic Communication Inventory (ACI) is a psychometric instrument developed in 2023 to quantify Academic Communication. This construct specifically measures how undergraduate students leverage various forms of social communication—both formal and informal—to enhance their academic outcomes within a higher education environment. The development process was rigorous, beginning with an exhaustive literature review and focus group consultations that initially generated 29 preliminary items. The resulting measure was evaluated across two independent samples. Multigroup factor analyses confirmed the ACI’s versatility, establishing its effectiveness as both a general assessment tool and a course-specific measure of academic communication. These analyses also suggested that communication behaviors might be context-dependent. Comprehensive data regarding the Reliability and validity of the ACI have been formally reported.

Keywords

Academic Communication, Academic Outcomes, Communication with Instructors, Communication with Peers, Higher Education, Instructors, Social Communication, Students, Psychometric Scale, University Students.

Authors

Archbell, Kristen A., Coplan, Robert J.

Purpose

The principal goal of the Academic Communication Inventory (ACI) is to provide a flexible and robust assessment tool for measuring academic communication behaviors in university students. Its versatility allows researchers and educators to employ it in two distinct ways: to obtain a broad, general measure of a student’s communication habits across their academic career, or to calculate a detailed, course-specific measure reflecting communication within a single class or context.

This dual functionality ensures that the ACI can be applied in various educational research settings, facilitating both macro-level studies of student engagement and micro-level interventions aimed at improving specific course-related communication strategies.

Construct

The ACI measures the construct of Academic Communication, defined as the intentional use of social communication strategies by students to support their learning and achievement of academic goals. Based on psychometric testing, the scale is structured around a fixed two-factor solution, representing the primary channels through which students engage in academic communication.

The two core factors, which function as distinct subscales, are:

• Communication With Instructors: Reflects formal and informal interactions with teaching staff (instructors and TAs), such as attending office hours, asking questions during class, and utilizing discussion boards.

• Communication with Peers: Reflects collaborative and supportive interactions with fellow students, often utilizing digital platforms like text messages, social networks, and shared online documents to discuss coursework.

Validity

The validity of the ACI was established through rigorous psychometric testing, including an assessment of its Convergent Validity. This analysis examined the associations between the ACI subscales and established measures of student engagement (SE).

The findings demonstrated a modest yet statistically significant positive correlation between both ACI subscales and SE, providing evidence that the ACI measures a related but distinct aspect of academic behavior. Specifically, the Peers subscale showed a correlation of r = .437 with student engagement, while the Instructors subscale exhibited a correlation of r = .424. These correlations support the notion that frequent academic communication is positively linked to a student’s overall level of engagement in their studies.

Reliability

The ACI demonstrated strong psychometric Reliability, particularly concerning its Internal Consistency. The internal consistency of the final two-factor structure was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha (𝛼) values for each factor.

Both factors achieved good reliability scores, with one factor yielding an alpha value of .88 and the other yielding .86. Furthermore, detailed analysis of inter-item associations within each subscale confirmed high internal cohesion. For the 10-item Instructors subscale, inter-item correlations ranged broadly from r = .32 to .89. For the 8-item Peers subscale, inter-item correlations ranged from r = .28 to .79, indicating that the items within each subscale measure a common underlying dimension.

Factor Analysis

The scale underwent multiple stages of factor analysis to determine the optimal underlying structure. The initial Principal Axis Factor Analysis of the original item pool suggested a complex 6-factor solution. Following the iterative removal of problematic items (those exhibiting low factor loadings or significant cross-loadings), subsequent analysis using the remaining 18 items indicated a 4-factor structure.

Through further refinement, the data were tested against fixed three-factor and then two-factor models. The final fixed 2-factor solution was ultimately adopted, as it accounted for a substantial 50% of the total variance in the data and demonstrated the best theoretical fit. This structure was confirmed by a subsequent Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The CFA fit indices for the 2-factor solution were strong: 𝜒² = .001, CFI = .90, RMSEA = .080, SRMR = .073, AIC = 14646.20, and BIC = 14870.06. Additionally, Item Response Theory (IRT) Analysis supported the unidimensionality of the individual subscales, although it did identify local dependence among items within each factor.

Crucially, Measurement Invariance analyses were conducted, demonstrating that the ACI subscales can be reliably and meaningfully compared across varying educational contexts. This invariance was confirmed by achieving configural, metric, and scalar invariance across different groups.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: The items are rated using a 5-item Likert-type scale, ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree.”

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male; Female)

Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 years); Adulthood (18 years and older); Young Adulthood (18-29 years)

Population Details: The initial validation study participants were university students aged 17-25 years, located in Canada.

Test Methodology: The methodology involved comprehensive psychometric analyses including Test Validity, Content Validity, Convergent Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Item Response Theory, and Measurement Invariance.

Keywords

Academic Communication, Academic Outcomes, Communication with Instructors, Communication with Peers, Higher Education, Instructors, Social Communication, Students, Psychometric Scale, University Students.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: 0000-0000-3696-2108 (Robert J. Coplan)

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Kristen A. Archbell)

Correspondence Address: University of Waterloo, Centre for Teaching Excellence, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale may be used for Research/Teaching purposes.

No fee is charged for use of the scale.

The scale was first published/validated in 2023.

Reference’s

Archbell, K. A., & Coplan, R. J. (2024). Conceptualization and assessment of academic communication among Canadian university students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 56(3), 253–264. doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000369

Items of the Academic Communication Inventory (ACI)

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

The Academic Communication Inventory is a 12-item measure. The test items are available in the Appendix, Page 12 of the source reference: 2023-52896-001.

Factors and Subscales:

The Academic Communication Inventory consists of two primary subscales:

• Communication With Peers

• Communication With Instructors

Instructors Scale

• I answer questions posed by instructors during class.

• I ask questions during a lecture or seminar.

• I attend TA office hours to ask questions.

• I attend instructor’s office hours to ask questions.

• I make appointments to meet with instructors/TAs.

• I talk with the instructor/TA outside of class to discuss the course.

• I post on discussion boards that are monitored by the instructor.

Peers Scale

• I talk with peers outside of class to discuss the course.

• I send peers text messages about coursework.

• I send peers instant messages on social networks about coursework.

• I use “online groups” to discuss coursework with peers.

• I create/use “shared online documents” for communication about coursework/studying.

Note: Participants are asked to rate the extent to which they agree with a variety of statements regarding academically based communications on a 5-point scale. TA = teaching assistant.