Abstract

Educational research literacy is paramount in the evidence-based approach to instruction. Despite the necessity to master literacy skills in the research-based landscape of academic institutions, an intensive understanding of the tools for evaluating this type of literacy as well as exploration of its constituting constructs or elements remains limited. The study aimed to examine instrument reliability and validity intended to assess educational research literacy and explore the key dimensions encompassing the literacy. Employing descriptive-exploratory quantitative research design, the study investigated the psychometric characteristics of the assessment tool. The study drew from data sources to develop a comprehensive understanding of the construct. The participants of the study were eighty-nine faculty members from various academic disciplines representing diverse academic backgrounds across the higher education institutions in the southernmost province of the Philippines, who were drawn using purposive sampling. The developed Educational Research Literacy Scale was utilized in the study in which the internal consistency reliability analysis of the data using Cronbach’s alpha indicated high reliability of the scale. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to investigate the construct’s underlying dimensions, which resulted in a four-factor structure of educational research literacy. To further validate the four-factor structure explicating the construct validity of the instrument, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The findings of this study elucidate the multidimensional nature of educational research literacy as a construct. The developed and validated scale can be utilized by educational institutions to evaluate how research literate their faculty is, which can inform the design of interventions to enhance their research competence.