Psychometric Evaluation of the Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Nursing Education Research Questionnaire

While nursing students' attitudes about research are generally positive, little is known about their attitudes toward education research. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Nursing Education Research Questionnaire (NSANERQ).

The 25-item NSANERQ was adapted from an existing tool measuring nursing students' attitudes toward nursing research. Content and construct validity, and internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated. Content validity was assessed using a panel of five experts. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity were assessed in a sample of 156 senior, junior, and sophomore baccalaureate nursing students with a mean age of 20.55 years. A separate sample of 49 freshmen baccalaureate nursing students with a mean age of 18.35 years was used to assess test-retest reliability. Both samples were predominantly female, White, and non-Hispanic/non-Latino.

The NSANERQ demonstrated excellent content validity (S-CVI = 0.92), good internal consistency reliability (α = .88), and acceptable test-retest reliability (r = 0.71) over 2 weeks. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a six-factor solution, which was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis.

The NSANERQ is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to measure students' attitudes toward nursing education research.