Development and validation of New Media Literacy Scale (NMLS) for university students

Abstract

Along with the emergence of new media technologies, individuals are now expected not only to consume but also produce, share and criticize digital contents. Being new media literate, they also need to know socio-cultural and emotional aspects of new media beyond its technical characteristics. New media literacy (NML) involves a series of crucial skills needed for living and working in the mediated and participatory society of 21st century. Although there has been a growing interest in the conceptualization of NML, the literature lacks a measuring instrument to operationalize NML. This study attempts to fill this gap by developing and validating a NML scale (NMLS) for university students. The sample included 1226 students at a state university in Turkey. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as item analyses including internal consistency coefficients, item-total correlations, and item discrimination powers were conducted to determine construct validity and reliability. Consistent with the adopted theoretical framework, the 35-item NMLS comprised four factors: Functional Consumption, Critical Consumption, Functional Prosumption, and Critical Prosumption. Potential applications of NMLS for measuring students’ new media competencies were discussed within the pedagogical and research contexts.