Thematic Content Analysis of Scale Development Studies Published in the Field of Science and Mathematics Education

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the scale development studies published by researchers in Turkey in terms of content and methodological aspects. For this aim, the papers published in six major academic journals in the field of educational sciences during the years 2000-2013 were reviewed in accordance with criteria of inclusion of the research and a total of 22 articles were included in this study. The analysis was carried out through a meta-synthesis. The findings indicated that the majority of the studies focused on attitudes and the scales were mostly developed in the field of mathematics education. It was also found that construct validity was generally achieved and confirmatory factor analysis was limited as validity analysis and the analysis towards methods of exploratory factor analysis were generally conducted in moderate level. The findings also indicated that the most preferred reliability analysis method was the internal consistency. Finally, various recommendations were given in accordance with the findings obtained.