Psychometric validation and gender invariance analysis of a revised version of the attitudes towards research scale (EACIN-23) in a Chilean university student sample

Scientific research is vital for student’s education, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and deepening subject knowledge. To assess students’ attitudes towards research, the attitude towards research scale was developed (EACIN). This study addresses three gaps regarding this instrument: inconsistent latent structure, lack of comparison between available versions, and absence of gender invariance analysis given previously found gender differences. We analyzed data from 358 Chilean undergraduates, assessing the different version’s dimensionality, reliability. Results revealed inadequate fit indices for all EACIN available versions. Consequently, we proposed a new solution through exploratory structural equation modeling, EACIN-23 (or the Attitude toward Research Scale, ATRS-23), with a three-factor latent structure (replicating a previously found latent structure by the scale authors) and acceptable to good goodness-of-fit. The ATRS-23 demonstrated adequate to optimal factor loadings and good reliability. Moreover, it achieved scalar invariance across genders and demonstrated excellent criterion validity. This study provides a reliable and valid psychometric version of the EACIN, capable of accurately measuring and predicting attitudes towards research, including discriminating between students with and without intentions for postgraduate studies and research careers. Given that the ATRS-23 is only available in Spanish, we provide its English version. These findings have significant implications for undergraduate education and scientific research training.