Dimensional structure and validation of a questionnaire to assess self-perceived informational competence in higher education
Abstract
The general objective of the research consisted of evaluating the dimensions of informational competence from the self-perception of incoming students of higher education from the northwestern region of Mexico. This study is based on the positivist paradigm with a quantitative approach using the descriptive-correlational method of multiple working hypotheses (MMWH). An ad hoc questionnaire was applied to a sample of 568 undergraduate students belonging to the state of Sonora from public and private centers during the period August-December 2021. The instrument evaluates four dimensions of informational competence: Information Search, Processing, Evaluation and Communication. The results of the reliability analysis of the instrument yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84. The descriptive analyses indicate that the students perceive themselves in an intermediate to moderate range of informational competence, with a minimum mean of 2.89 and a maximum of 4.48. The dimensions referring to the search for and communication of information were among the highest in their means, intermediate to advanced levels were reached here; while the dimensions of Information Management and Evaluation, from low to intermediate. In Spearman's correlation coefficients, significant bidirectional relationships were obtained between the dimensions analyzed, above 0.51 with a significance level of 0.01. It is concluded that, because of the changes in the virtual-remote education paradigms due to the covid-19 pandemic, university students in northwestern Mexico have increased their levels of mastery of their informational knowledge and skills.
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