Investigating the Psychometric Properties of a New Survey Instrument Measuring Factors Related to Upward Transfer in STEM Fields

We investigated the psychometric properties of six latent factors in a new survey instrument measuring factors related to transfer in STEM from 2-year to 4-year institutions: initial attitudes toward math, initial attitudes toward science, self-efficacy in math, self-efficacy in science, active learning, and transfer-oriented interaction. We demonstrated the utility of combining confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory in assessing both the overall factor structure and individual items' capability to capture respondent characteristics across all levels of a given latent trait. Our study expands the methodological repertoire for higher education survey research while illuminating potential mechanisms associated with transfer in STEM.