A statistical approach to quantitative data validation focused on the assessment of students’ perceptions about biotechnology

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Table 1 Factor structure of the cognitive component of attitudes scale based on EFA and reliability analysis

		Identifiable factors			One sample t-test(test value=3)
Item	h ²	*Classical applications*	*Agro-food applications*	*Biomedical applications*	One sample t-test(test value=3)
Item	h ²	*Classical applications*	*Agro-food applications*	*Biomedical applications*	M	SD	t(1195)	p
Q5a. Use of yeast in the production of bread, wine and beer	0.75	0.85			3.76	1.15	23.04	<0.001
Q5b. Use of yeast in animal food production	0.69	0.79			3.33	1.15	10.06	<0.001
Q5d. Plant growth improvement in saline environments by gene alteration	0.66		0.81		3.56	1.11	17.56	<0.001
Q5i. Production of pesticide resistant plants by gene manipulation	0.66		0.77		3.45	1.24	13.89	<0.001
Q5j. Genetic modification of tomatoes to make them ripen more slowly and have a longer shelf life	0.48		0.61		2.74	1.26	−7.18	<0.001
Q5h. Utilization of genetically modified cows in the production of medicines for humans	0.58			0.65	2.61	1.20	−11.2	<0.001
Q5k. Use of insulin produced by bacteria	0.62			0.71	3.33	1.25	9.13	<0.001
Q5l. Organ transplant from transgenic animals to humans	0.71			0.84	2.71	1.31	−7.53	<0.001
Eigenvalue		1.00	3.09	1.06
% of variance		12.54	38.68	13.25
Cronbach’s alpha		0.64	0.66	0.67
	M	3.52	3.25	2.90
	SD	0.98	0.90	0.98
	t(1195)	19.32	9.64	−4.08
	p	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001

EFA - exploratory factor analysis. Coefficients below 0.30 were suppressed. KMO = 0.80. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity: χ ²(28) = 2010.08, p < 0.001. h ² - communality coefficient. M - Mean. SD - Standard Deviation.