Measurement of Disaster Literacy in Turkish Society: Disaster Literacy Scale (DLS) Design and Development Process

This study aimed to design and develop a self-report Disaster Literacy Scale (DLS) tool that could evaluate the knowledge and skills of an individual specific to Turkish society.

Item development, expert opinions, language control, pilot study and field testing processes were monitored in the measurement tool based on a conceptual model and recognition.

23 items were taken out since their common variance values (>0,508, >0.500, >0.500, >0.400, respectively) and factor load relationship (>0.46, >0.50, >0.50, >0.50 and >0.55, respectively) in the mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phases of the Exploratory Factor Analysis were insufficient. The Cronbach Alpha value of the remaining 61 items in the Disaster Literary Scale is 0.954 and between 0.83-0.88 in lower dimensions. DLS scoring was standardized between 0-50 points.

The objectives, scopes, limitations and steps of the design and development process of the Disaster Literacy Scale were given in detail and made understandable for other societies. The Disaster Literacy Scale was developed as a self-report scale that could evaluate the knowledge and skills of Turkish society in disasters. The Disaster Literacy Scale is, therefore, expected to be accepted in more countries to improve the understanding of disaster literacy in different societies.