Academic Motivation Scale- Frequently asked questions

Validity describes how accurately an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. The AMS-C 28 (Vallerand et al., 1992) was designed to measure academic motivation within the construct of self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). A Cronbach alpha test was done in Vallerand’s (1992) initial analysis of the AMS-C 28 to assess the internal consistency and reliability of the study questionnaire and its sub-scales. Validity and reliability evidence obtained show that internal consistency was reported for all seven sub-scales within the constructs of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Validity data shows the following: Cronbach’s alpha  = 0.81, min  = 0.62, max  = 0.91, (Vallerand et al., 1992, as cited in Rand, 2018). In this study, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated at  = 0.92 for all 28 questions, and  = 0.84 for each of the 7 sub-scales, which are excellent (0.92-0.94), and reliable (0.84-0.90) respectively (Taber, 2018). 

Reliability measures the consistency of an instrument. This means that each time an instrument is used it will provide consistent results. The AMS-C 28 (Vallerand et al., 1992) has been used in many research studies in the United States and internationally. The AMS-C 28 survey has been used in prior research to explore self-determination motivation levels for many groups of college students in the United States (Anderson et al., 2018; Fallon, 2019; Walker, 2019), and in Pakistan (Javaeed et al., 2019), and Slovenia (Levpušček & Podlesek, 2017). The validity and reliability of the AMS-C 28 since its creation in 1992 remains consistent throughout many research studies (Anderson et al., 2018; Fallon, 2019; Levpušček & Podlesek, 2017; Miulescu, 2018; Ramos, 2019; Walker, 2019).