A Construct Revalidation of the Community of Inquiry Survey: Empirical Evidence for a General Factor Under a Bifactor Structure

The study revisited the community of inquiry (CoI) instrument for construct revalidation. To that end, used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine four competing models (unidimensional, correlated-factor, second-order factor, and bifactor models) on model fit statistics computed using parameter estimates from a statistical estimator ordinal categorical data. CFA identified as optimal structure where all items loaded their intended domains existence general was supported, essentially evidence validity instrument. further examined mostly model-based reliability measures. findings confirmed contributions scores. concluded with model, supported valid reliable representation CoI fuller theoretical framework, recommended its use in CoI-related research practice online education.