Validity Evidence for a Persian Version of the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire

Abstract

Background: Due to the importance of self-regulated learning in distance education (especially online learning environments), researchers are constantly looking for a suitable instrument to evaluate it more accurately. The purpose of this study was to investigate validity and reliability of the Barnard’s et al (2009) Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire in Iranian context. Methods: The study was a descriptive survey that implemented a correlational research design. The population of this study were all postgraduate students enrolled in the online courses at universities located in Tehran in the academic year 2017-2018. A sample of 450 students were selected by Cluster random sampling and responded to the Barnard et al (2009) Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire, of which, 418 questionnaires could be analyzed. Results: The findings showed that the questionnaire had acceptable formal and content validities. The results of exploratory factor analysis by the principal components method, confirmed six factors named goal setting, environment structuring, task strategies, time management, help seeking and self-evaluation. These six factors account for 56.78 % of the overall variance. To determine the factor validity, a confirmatory factor analysis was used, and the results showed that the model appropriately fit to data. All of the tests confirmed the model. (Χ2/df=1.930<3, RMSEA=0.064, GFI=0.94, NFI=0.92, CFI=0.94). The results of this study showed that Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranged from 0.84 to 0.94 and Intraclass correlation coefficient and Pearson correlation coefficient of test-retest were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. Conclusion: The instrument appears to be appropriate for assessing self-regulated online learning among Iranian students for research or intervention purposes.