Reanalysis of Validation of Tool to Assess Readiness for Online Learning

Data originally collected to validate a questionnaire measuring Soldiers' readiness to attend the eArmyU were reanalyzed. eArmyU is a portal to online college-level courses offered by a consortium of universities. The current study applies analytical procedures that provide methodological improvements to the original analysis. Specifically, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were sequentially used to select items and establish construct validities of the resulting scales. Next, a linear-based approach was applied to examine the scales' criterion-related validity. Scales measuring five theoretically relevant constructs (i.e., Motivation/Self-Determination, Intolerance of Ambiguity, Performance Goal Orientation, Need for Social Interaction, and Study Skills/Conscientiousness) were constructed from 53 of the 90 original items. The scales have good psychometric properties and can reasonably predict the criterion of interest (multiple R adjusted for shrinkage is .23). Recommendations for future research that would further support the use of the questionnaire are presented.