Translation and Validation of the Online Homework Distraction Scale for Peruvian University Students

Abstract

The objective of this study was to translate and validate the Online Homework Distraction Scale (OHDS) for Peruvian university students. Accordingly, an instrumental cross-sectional study was conducted with 811 university students, including students of both sexes aged between 16 and 39 (M = 20.96 years; SD = 4.42) residing in the city of Lima. The content-based validity evidence was analyzed using Aiken’s V coefficient based on the internal structure through a confirmatory factor analysis and considered in relation to other variables a through correlation analysis. The reliability was calculated using the Omega coefficient. Expert opinions were favorable for all items (V > 0.70). The one-dimensional structure of the scale was confirmed, and it presented acceptable reliability (α > 0.70). Thus, the OHDS for university students is a measure with a valid and reliable scale.

Adaptation and validation of the research task distractor scale in Peruvian university students

“…This indicates that the participating students perceived the questionnaire items for the unidimensional model of distractors in research tasks. Furthermore, the structural analyses through the CFA showed adequate fits with satisfactory factor loads, confirming the unidimensional structure reported by similar instruments (Xu et al, 2020;Carranza et al, 2022). Finally, the reliability of the questionnaire was analyzed and an omega coefficient of 0.86 was found, which meets the recommended reliability criterion (Domínguez-Lara et al, 2015).…”

“…Another important finding is that the original psychometric study (Carranza et al, 2022) did not report the presence of measurement invariance. Therefore, this is the first study to evaluate the ability to make significant comparisons between groups with the E-DTi scale.…”

“…The Spanish version of the online task distraction scale, with 5 items, was used as a basis, which was translated and adapted by Carranza et al (2022) and based on the Online Task Distraction Scale (Xu et al, 2020). The structure of the measure is unifactorial and has 5 response options in a Likert format, ranging from "Never" to "Always. "…”

“…According to the scientific literature, there are various factors that limit the scientific production of university students, including the lack of technological and methodological skills, the lack of motivation, and negative attitudes (Soto, 2020). However, there are still other factors that require further research, such as academic task distractors (Xu et al, 2020;Carranza et al, 2022), especially in the context of university research.…”

“…Although there are studies that investigate the impact of distractors on the teaching and learning process at the higher level (Durán-Aponte and Pujol, 2013;Ramos-Galarza et al, 2017;Mendoza, 2018;Guillén, 2019), in Peru these evaluation tools are not yet available. There are interesting alternatives in other languages, such as the Online Task Distraction Scale proposed by Xu et al (2020), which was recently translated and adapted to the Peruvian university context by Carranza et al (2022). However, these alternatives only evaluate the presence of distractors in the context of academic tasks in general, and not in university research.…”