Psychometric properties of an instrument to assess biodiversity knowledge in students
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.25267/Rev_Eureka_ensen_divulg_cienc.2026.v23.i1.1501Info
Authors
- Luis Gibran Juárez Hernández (MX) Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua y Centro Universitario CIFE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0658-6818
- María Delfina Luna Krauletz (MX) Universidad de la Sierra Juárez https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5434-662X
- Haydeé Parra Acosta (MX) Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua
- Jose López Loya (MX) Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua
Abstract
Currently, there is a serious environmental crisis and loss of biodiversity, one of the actions to face these challenges is to be acquainted with the knowledge within the population about biodiversity. Therefore, instruments with adequate psychometric properties are required to evaluate the understanding of biodiversity, its meaning, the causes and consequences of its loss. The objective of this study was to analyze the construct validity and reliability of an instrument to evaluate knowledge about biodiversity in students. The instrument was implemented to 340 university students. For the analysis of construct validity, a cross-validation process was used that involved exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability was determined by using McDonald's Omega and composite reliability index. According to the EFA, correspondence was found with the theoretical model where all the items are represented in the factorial model and that this explained more than 79% of the variance. Meanwhile, using the CFA, the resulting factor model showed a good fit (χ2/df ratio: 1.17; GFI: 0.97; RMSAE: 0.053; RMR: 0.049; CFI: 0.997; TLI: 0.995) Evidence of convergent (CFE>0.50; IFC>0.90; VME: 0.60) and divergent validity was found. The global and factor reliability showed an optimal value (McDonald's Omega and IFC>0.80). The instrument on knowledge about biodiversity in students has adequate psychometric properties.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Luis Gibran Juárez Hernández, María Delfina Luna Krauletz, Haydeé Parra Acosta, Jose López Loya
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