Developing the information literacy self-efficacy scale

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to describe the development of a scale designed to measure self-efficacy for information literacy. Design/methodology/approach – Cronbach’s alpha, item analysis and item discrimination indices, principal component analysis, varimax rotation, and discriminant validity were used to measure reliability and validity of the scale. A 28-item refined version of the scale was found highly reliable and of reasonable length. Findings – Further refinement based on principal component analysis indicated three major components, which allow approaching information literacy skills regarding to their complexity levels. Originality/value – The information literacy self-efficacy scale is recommended to identify individuals with low self-efficacy beliefs, which may be a significantly limiting factor for them to explore their information literacy skills.