Evaluating the Validity of an Epistemic Belief Questionnaire: Evidence Based on Internal Structure, Content, and Response Process

The development of epistemic beliefs is regarded as an important goal of education. Three studies were conducted with preservice teachers in Australia to evaluate the validity of a new instrument that has the potential to measure sophistication of epistemic beliefs in a theoretically grounded manner. Two surveys gathered evidence on internal structure and content, and an interview study collected evidence on response process. Findings indicate that the original model and instrument required modifications. The modified instrument exhibited better internal structure. Interview data show that the instrument prompted respondents to think about the target constructs. However, the interview data also show that there are nuances in respondents’ beliefs about scientific knowledge which were not captured by the written questionnaire