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Quantifying media literacy: development, reliability, and validity of a new measure
Edward T Arke1, Brian A Primack
1Department of Communication, Messiah College, One College Avenue, Box 3038, Grantham, PA 17027, USA.
Educational Media International
|September 28, 2011
Summary
Developing a reliable media literacy scale is crucial for education and public health. This pilot study introduces a new scale, showing good internal consistency and a structure aligning with theory, suggesting its value for research and interventions.
Area of Science:
- Communication Studies
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Media literacy significantly impacts education, communication, and public health.
- Accurate measurement of media literacy is essential for research and intervention effectiveness.
- Existing measurement tools may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of media literacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and pilot-test a new scale for measuring media literacy.
- To assess the reliability and validity of the proposed media literacy scale.
- To provide a tool for evaluating media literacy interventions.
Main Methods:
- Scale items were developed based on a comprehensive conceptual model.
- A pilot study was conducted with 34 college communication students.
- Internal consistency reliability and principal components analysis were used for psychometric evaluation.
Main Results:
- The media literacy subscales demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (α = 0.74–0.79).
- Principal components analysis supported a five-factor structure closely matching the conceptual model.
- The media literacy scale showed a significant positive correlation with a critical thinking measure (r = 0.32, P = .03).
Conclusions:
- The developed pilot scale is a reliable and potentially valid measure of media literacy.
- The scale's structure supports its theoretical underpinnings.
- This new measure can aid in assessing media literacy levels and the impact of interventions.
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