The Online Student Connectedness Survey: Evidence of Initial Construct Validity

Abstract

The Online Student Connectedness Survey (OSCS) was introduced to the academic community in 2012 as an instrument designed to measure feelings of connectedness between students participating in online degree and certification programs. The purpose of this study was to examine data from the instrument for initial evidence of validity and reliability and to establish a nomological network between the OSCS, the Classroom Connectedness Survey (CCS), and the Community of Inquiry Survey (COI), which are similar instruments in the field. Results provided evidence of factor validity and reliability. Additionally, statistically and practically significant correlations were demonstrated between factors contained in the OSCS and established instruments measuring factors related to student connectedness. These results indicate that for the sample used in this study, the OSCS provides data that are valid and reliable for assessing feelings of connection between participants in online courses at institutions of higher learning.Keywords: distance learning, student connectedness, factor validity, construct validity The Online Student Connectedness Survey: Evidence of Initial Construct ValidityThe struggling economy and increased competition in the job market have helped intensify enrollment in online classes at higher education institutions (Sheehy, 2012). This growth has led to an upsurge in research into factors that result in student success in online classes, most notably online student connectedness (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007;Ouzts, 2006). Online student connectedness refers to human interactions in computer-mediated learning environments that allow individuals to participate comfortably in group Black, 1986). The ability to understand how students interact and succeed in online courses is critical because online learning is expected to be a vital part of long-term strategies for many higher education institutions (Sheehy, 2012). The need to study factors related to online connectedness has been addressed by several authors (Rovai, 2002a; Slagter van Tyron & Bishop, 2006Shin, 2003;Tu & McIsaac, 2002). However, a review of the contemporary literature yielded three instruments designed to measure the concept of online student connectedness (Bolliger & Inan, 2012 Rovai (2002a) developed the CCS to measure students' sense of community in a learning environment.Subscales were shown to measure social community and learning community, but a test of the psychometric properties revealed that the CCS might be best suited for graduate students (Barnard-Brak & Shiu, 2010).While the CCS measures the relationship between students as it relates to sense of community and perceived learning, it ignores the importance of relationships that students build with the course facilitator and their need for comfort with technology. Evidence suggests that students' feelings toward the facilitator and their level of comfort with technology are critical factors in developing feelings of social connectedness in online educational settings (Boll...

Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the Sub-Construct of Teaching Presence’s in the Community of Inquiry

“…Additionally, the degree to which items differentiate among sub-constructs known as the discriminant validity was established. The statistical values in this study confirmed that teaching presence shows very essential and significant element in one of the main concepts in the CoI framework; the ability of online instructor to design, organize, direct instruction, and facilitating learning resulting the consistently of engagement and participation could be measured (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010;Zimmerman & Nimon, 2017).…”

“…Previous literature from several countries (Cho & Tobias, 2016;Feng, Xie, & Liu, 2017;Setiani & MacKinnon, 2015;Shin & Kang, 2015;Yu & Richardson, 2015;Zimmerman & Nimon, 2017) had verified and found the applicability of the model. In line with this study, it revealed that multivariate analysis also supports the validity and reliability of the items, which could enrich the literature on the CoI.…”

“…Another element is cognitive presence, which refers to any content posted in the virtual classroom; it triggers the learning event, exploration, integration, and resolution in learning certain topic or issue (Garrison et al, 1999;Garrison, Cleveland-Innes, & Fung, 2010). In brief, the CoI instrument that has been verified to establish its reliability and validity measurement for those three presences (Salloum, 2011;Yu & Richardson, 2015;Zimmerman & Nimon, 2017). Therefore, teaching presence will be the focus throughout the discussion.…”

“…The structured of CoI cross-sectional online survey questionnaires was distributed among respondents via google form. The CoI instrument was adopted from (Garrison et al, 1999;Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010) which already established its own validity and reliability for more than a decade ago and has been translated and tested from various countries (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010;Swan, 2001;Yu & Richardson, 2015;Zimmerman & Nimon, 2017).…”

The Influence of Social Presence on Students’ Satisfaction toward Online Course

“…In order to guide, interpret, and analyze the retrieved data, the CoI survey was adopted to measure social presence with nine items using social presence sub-scales, namely affective expression, open communication, and group cohesion. The social presence construct has been verified as a reliable and validated measure (Garrison et al, 2010a(Garrison et al, , 2010bYu & Richardson, 2015;Zimmerman & Nimon, 2017) and used for more than a decade to measure presence.…”