Preliminary assessment of content validity and internal consistency of the N-CT-4 students questionnaire in the master’s students in nursing
Tóm tắt
Introduction:
Critical thinking (CT) is a core competency in nursing, essential for clinical judgment, safe practice, and professional development. However, valid and context-specific tools to assess CT in nursing education remain limited in Vietnam. This study is the first to translate, content validate, and reliability test the N-CT-4 Students questionnaire into Vietnamese and to employ it in the survey on Master’s students in Nursing (MSNs), marking the initial use of this tool among graduate-level nursing students.
Methods:
The Vietnamese version of the N-CT-4 Students questionnaire used in this study was translated through a forward–backward translation process. Content validity was assessed through evaluations by six experts, using the item-level and scale-level content validity indices (I-CVI, S-CVI). Internal consistency reliability, measured by Cronbach’s Alpha, was determined through an online survey involving 100 MSNs at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP).
Results:
The Vietnamese version of the N-CT-4 Students questionnaire preserved the meaning of the original English version, which was clear and easy to comprehend. The I-CVI for the N-CT-4 Students components ranged from 0.8 to 1.0. The S-CVI/AVE and S-CVI/UA were 0.99 and 0.95, respectively. The internal consistency reliability of MSNs was 0.982.
Conclusions:
The Vietnamese version of the N-CT-4 Students questionnaire demonstrates strong content validity and high internal reliability, making it a suitable tool for assessing CT among MSNs in Vietnam. Its availability can support nursing educators in evaluating this competency and developing strategies to enhance CT in clinical settings.
