Faculty of Social Sciences, imec-mict-ugent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2020 May 29;15(5):e0233891. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233891. eCollection 2020.
Today, some individuals may be at a disadvantage by experiencing difficulties in using a smartphone or computer to reach specific outcomes (e.g., looking for a job, searching for information on insurances) or in general (e.g., not knowing how to change the settings of an app or website). The aim of this study is to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a new instrument, called the Digital Difficulties Scale (DDS). A multi-phase method was performed to develop the questionnaire in the period from January 2019 to November 2019. The item pool was generated based on a literature review, informal observations and interviews. Then, this item pool was presented both to experts (n = 6) and non-experts (n = 492) to assess content and face validity. In a second stage, construct validity (both exploratory and confirmatory), convergent and divergent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire were tested. These analyses were based on a representative sample (n = 1000), and an independent sample for test-retest reliability (n = 44). Twenty-four items were generated and refined during content and face validity assessment. The exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors (Specific Digital Difficulties, General Digital Difficulties, and Worries about Future Digital Difficulties) containing sixteen items, together explaining 73.03% of the observed variance. The confirmatory factor analysis proved adequate model fitness. Both convergent and divergent validity were good, and internal consistency was excellent, with Cronbach's alphas ranging between .93 and .97. Finally, our instrument demonstrated good test-retest reliability, with interclass correlation coefficients between .73 and .86. Consequently, the DDS can be used both in future research and practice, as it is a valid and reliable instrument to measure who is disadvantaged to fulfill basic needs by experiencing difficulties in using a smartphone or computer.
如今，有些人在使用智能手机或计算机实现特定目标（例如，找工作、搜索保险信息）或在一般情况下（例如，不知道如何更改应用程序或网站的设置）可能会遇到困难，从而处于不利地位。本研究旨在开发和检验一种新的工具，称为数字困难量表（DDS）的心理测量特性。该问卷在 2019 年 1 月至 11 月期间采用多阶段方法开发。基于文献回顾、非正式观察和访谈生成了项目池。然后，将该项目池提交给专家（n=6）和非专家（n=492），以评估内容和表面效度。在第二阶段，对问卷的结构效度（探索性和验证性）、收敛和发散效度、内部一致性和重测信度进行了测试。这些分析基于代表性样本（n=1000）和重测信度的独立样本（n=44）进行。在内容和表面效度评估期间生成并完善了 24 个项目。探索性因素分析显示，有三个因素（特定数字困难、一般数字困难和对未来数字困难的担忧）包含 16 个项目，共同解释了 73.03%的观察变异。验证性因素分析证明模型拟合良好。收敛和发散效度均良好，内部一致性极好，Cronbach's alpha 值在 0.93 到 0.97 之间。最后，我们的工具表现出良好的重测信度，组内相关系数在 0.73 到 0.86 之间。因此，DDS 可以用于未来的研究和实践，因为它是一种有效的、可靠的工具，可以衡量那些在使用智能手机或计算机时遇到困难而无法满足基本需求的人处于不利地位。
