title: A statistical approach to quantitative data validation focused on the assessment of students' perceptions about biotechnology.
abstract: Student awareness levels are frequently used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational policies to promote scientific literacy. Over the last years several studies have been developed to assess students' perceptions towards science and technology, which usually rely on quantitative methods to achieve broad characterizations, and obtain quantifiable and comparable data. Although the usefulness of this information depends on its validity and reliability, validation is frequently neglected by researchers with limited background in statistics. In this context, we propose a guideline to implement a statistical approach to questionnaire validation, combining exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. The work focuses on the psychometric analysis of data provided by a questionnaire assessing 1196 elementary and high school students' perceptions about biotechnology. Procedural guidelines to enhance the efficiency of quantitative inquiry surveys are given, by discussing essential methodological aspects and relevant criteria to integrate theory into practice.
authors.affiliation: CIBIO - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos/InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal ; Faculdade de Ciências, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal ; IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Patrício
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lencastre
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tavares
keywords: Biotechnology education; Elementary and high school; Exploratory factor analysis; Psychometric analysis; Questionnaire validation; Reliability