In an effort to ensure the validity and reliability of the survey used in this
study, different surveys were combined; Pedersen and Yerrick’s survey, “Technology
in science teacher education: Survey of current uses and desired knowledge among
science educators” (Pedersen & Yerrick, 2000) and “Metiri Group Faculty
Technology Survey” (Metiri Group, 2001). Section C of the current survey is
composed of the same forty-seven items from Pedersen and Yerrick’s study. Section
B of the current survey is composed of the same 17 and 14 items used in the Metiri
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Group Faculty Technology survey. The present study calculated the Cronbach Alpha
coefficient as a measure of the internal consistency reliability for each sections of the
survey. Cronbach’s alpha measures how well a set of items (or variables) measures a
single unidimensional latent construct. When data have a multidimensional structure,
cronbach’s alpha will usually be low and alpha coefficient ranges in value from 0 to
1. The higher the alpha is, the more reliable the test and the lower standard error of
measurement. Reliability is considered acceptable for group comparison when the
coefficient exceeds Nunnally’s criterion 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978). The data were
analyzed using SPSS software (version 12). Validity refers to whether the instrument
accurately measures what it is intended to measure.