Psychometric properties of the environmental factors' questionnaire for undergraduate medical students taking online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Environmental factors are important for students' learning during online classes, especially during a pandemic, such as COVID-19. This study aimed to validate the environmental factors' questionnaire during online learning.

METHODS: A total of 218 undergraduate medical students at the Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, participated in a cross-sectional study that involved an online survey. Environmental factor scales were assessed with the nine-item lighting, noise, and temperature (LNT) scale and the six-item technology scale. Analysis was performed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

RESULTS: The English version of the LNT scale with nine items and three factors showed a good fit to the data, with no item deleted. For LNT, the composite reliability (CR) was 0.81, 0.81, and 0.84, respectively, while the average variance extracted (AVE) was 0.61, 0.59, and 0.6, respectively. The English version of the technology scale, with six items and one factor, also showed a good fit to the data, with no item deleted. The CR was 0.84, and the AVE was 0.51.

CONCLUSIONS: The results provide psychometric evidence for environmental questionnaire scales in evaluating the factors associated with online learning among Malaysian university medical students. All items were retained and confirmed to fit the sample data.