Item response theory analysis of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S) using a sample of Japanese university and college students majoring medical science, nursing, and natural science

Abstract

ObjectivesThe Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students has been used internationally to assess students’ academic engagement, but it has not been analyzed via item response theory. The purpose of this study was to conduct an item response theory analysis of the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students translated by authors. Using a two-parameter model and Samejima’s graded response model, difficulty and discrimination parameters were estimated after confirming the factor structure of the scale.ResultsThe 14 items on the scale were analyzed with a sample of 3214 university and college students majoring medical science, nursing, or natural science in Japan. The preliminary parameter estimation was conducted with the two parameter model, and indicated that three items should be removed because there were outlier parameters. Final parameter estimation was conducted using the survived 11 items, and indicated that all difficulty and discrimination parameters were acceptable. The test information curve suggested that the scale better assesses higher engagement than average engagement. The estimated parameters provide a basis for future comparative studies. The results also suggested that a 7-point Likert scale is too broad; thus, the scaling should be modified to fewer graded scaling structure.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-017-2839-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Validez de la Estructura Interna del Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) en trabajadores peruanos

“…En el presente estudio, influenciado por trabajos relevantes De Bruin, Hil, Henn y Muller, 2013;Fongy Ho, 2015;Tsubakita, Shimazaki, Ito y Kawazoe, 2017;Vallières et al, 2017), se encontró una posible forma estructural alternativa para expresar mejor las relaciones entre los ítems y los factores del UWES. De acuerdo a los antecedentes sobre el UWES, este podría ser utilizado desde un enfoque de dos niveles de interpretación (multidimensional y unidimensional).…”

Psychometric Investigation of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 Using the Rasch Measurement Model

“…As the next step, the scale function of the UWES-17 was confirmed, and the five-point Likert-type scale was found to function appropriately. Tsubakita et al (2017) reported that a seven-point scale was excessively diverse for participants. Therefore, it did not function appropriately for the UWES-17.…”

“…However, this model has rarely been used to assess the UWES-17. Some studies utilized this model to examine the validity of the UWES-17 (De Bruin et al., 2013; Goliath-Yarde & Roodt, 2011; Tsubakita et al., 2017), but they did not have consistent and systematic standards for the validity tests. Therefore, the present study applied the Rasch model to examine the validity dimensions proposed by Messick (1995) to provide systematic and psychometric evidence regarding the validity of the UWES-17.…”

Validity and reliability of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Version in Sri Lanka

“…In assessing the judgemental validity, item 13 (“When studying, I am very resilient, mentally”) had the least median rating score and the main concern raised regarding the item was the difficulty in explaining the phrase “mentally resilience” in Sinhala language. The global literature suggests that modified versions of the UWES-S with removal of several items have been used in work engagement among high school, college, and university students [ 21 , 22 , 31 ].…”