Evaluation of the use of psychometric scales in human-wildlife interaction research to determine attitudes and tolerance towards wildlife

Whitehouse-Tedd, K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0061-489X, Abell, J and Dunn, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3226-1734, 2020. Evaluation of the use of psychometric scales in human-wildlife interaction research to determine attitudes and tolerance towards wildlife. Conservation Biology. ISSN 0888-8892

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Abstract

Studies evaluating human‐wildlife interactions (HWI) in a conservation context often include psychometric scales to measure attitudes and tolerance towards wildlife. However, data quality is at risk when such scales are used without appropriate validation or reliability testing, potentially leading to erroneous interpretation or application of findings. Two online databases (ProQuest Psych Info and Web of Science), were used to identify published HWI studies including attitude and tolerance which we subsequently analyzed to; (1) determine the methods used to measure attitudes or tolerance toward predators and other wildlife; (2) determine the proportion of these methods utilizing psychometric scales; and (3) evaluate the rigor with which the scales were used by examining whether the psychometric properties of validity and reliability were reported. For the decade spanning 2007–2017, 114 published studies were identified; 94 (82%) used questionnaires and many of these (53; 56%) utilized a psychometric scale. Most scales (39; 74%) had at least one test of reliability reported, but reliance on a single test was notable, contrary to recommended practice. A smaller majority (35; 66%) reported a test of validity but this was primarily restricted to structural validity rather than more comprehensive testing. Encouragingly, HWI‐investigators are increasingly utilizing the necessary psychometric tools for designing and analyzing questionnaire data, but the failure to assess the validity or reliability of psychometric scales used in over one third of published HWI attitude research warrants attention. Incorporation of more robust application of psychometric scales is advocated in order to advance understanding of stakeholder attitudes as they relate to HWI.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Conservation Biology
Creators:	Whitehouse-Tedd, K., Abell, J. and Dunn, A.
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Date:	11 October 2020
ISSN:	0888-8892
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1111/cobi.13599 DOI 1346470 Other
Rights:	© 2020 the authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	14 Sep 2020 11:38
Last Modified:	31 May 2021 15:14
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/40711

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