Are the Latent Factors of News Credibility Distinct? Discriminant Validity of the News Credibility Scale

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Journalism Studies Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

The construct of news credibility has been of interest to communication scholars for decades, yet researchers have struggled to develop a measure of news credibility that demonstrates a reliable factor structure and construct validity. This study uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and discriminant analysis to evaluate Abdulla and colleagues’ (2004) measure of news credibility. Results indicate that although the factor structure of the measure is replicable, the measure exhibits significant concerns related to discriminant validity. Discriminant analysis on another measure of news credibility (Kohring & Matthes, 2007) revealed similar concerns, suggesting that all existing measures of news credibility may possess this flaw. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Robert N Yale, U of Dallas

• Jakob D. Jensen, U of Utah

• Nick Carcioppolo, U of Miami

• Ye Sun, U of Utah

• Miao Liu, U of Utah