Construction and validity of an instrument to evaluate renewable energies and energy sustainability perceptions for social consciousness

Abstract

The construction and content validity of an instrument to evaluate the perception and social consciousness on renewable resources and energy sustainability was done. First, a review and analysis of the existing instruments in the literature was carried out. The instrument was con-structed, then reviewed by three experts, and submitted to the judgment of nine experts. Finally, it was applied to a group of twenty people to evaluate instruction and question accuracy. The instrument is integrated with four dimensions: knowledge on renewable energy; the perception of benefits obtained from it; willingness to acquire renewable energy equipment and evaluation of the use of wind and solar energies importance; the degree of personal and social awareness on environmental care as well as information on specific habits on how important it is to promote and practice energy-saving and environmental sustainability. The experts’ revision process resulted in the ap-proval of the instrument. Content validity (Aiken’s V > 0.75; VI > 0.50) was confirmed. The results of the pilot sample showed a favorable opinion, the understanding of the instructions and items, and the attainment of an optimal value in reliability (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.8553). It was concluded that the instrument is valid to evaluate the perception and degree of consciousness on renewable energies and energy sustainability constructs.