Measuring How People View Biomedical Research: Reliability and Validity Analysis of the Research Attitudes Questionnaire

With increasing numbers of studies on research ethics and a need to improve the recruitment of research subjects, the ability to measure attitudes toward biomedical research has become important. The Research Attitudes Questionnaire is a significant predictor of the public's attitudes toward and willingness to participate in research, yet limited data are available on its psychometric properties. This study establishes the scale's internal consistency and dimensionality using a large Internet-based sample from the United States. One item was removed due to a poor item-total correlation, and three additional items were removed which formed a reverse-wording measurement artifact factor. With improved internal consistency and dimensionality, the seven-item version has the advantages of shorter administration time and improved psychometric properties.