A science diplomacy scale for higher education: a validity and reliability study in Türkiye

Abstract

It is stated in the literature that scientific studies carried out by higher education institutions, which are among the leading institutions that produce knowledge and science, are effective in the development of science diplomacy practices. However, no research has been found in Türkiye on the level of this effect. In this context, there was gap in the literature develop a scale of science diplomacy in higher education in order to determine the extent to which scientific studies carried out by higher education institutions affect science diplomacy practices. The aim of the study was to develop a scale that can reveal the impact of scientific studies conducted by higher education institutions on science diplomacy practices according to the opinions of deans and vice deans. A total of 183 individuals participated in the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) study and 246 individuals participated in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) study using the simple random sampling method to create the study group for the research. EFA, CFA, and Cronbach alpha values were examined for validity and reliability analyses of the Science Diplomacy Scale in Higher Education. Four items were redundant items in the factor analysis, and they were removed from the scale based on expert opinion. The CFA results show that the goodness-of-fit indices of the model fall within the reference ranges stated in the literature and that the model fits well with the research data. The findings obtained, the scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool. As a result of the research, a four-dimensional and 25-item Science Diplomacy Scale in Higher Education was developed with 5-point Likert rating.