Secularity Scale for Muslim

Description
The main purpose of gathering this dataset is to develop a psychometrically sound and quick-to-apply scale that can be used to measure the degree of secularity among Muslims. The development and validation of a 25-item Secularity Scale comprise five studies. In the first study, a 90-item inventory was applied to a pilot group of 199 individuals. In the second study, an inventory was applied to 1573 university students for the exploratory factor analysis, yielding a two-factor structure with an internal reliability of 0.975 for Daily Life factor and 0.952 for Faith&Prayer factor. In the third study, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed with 4391 individuals and a structure that can be deemed very solid was found with fit indices of CFI: 0.961, TLI: 0.957, RMSEA: 0.053, and SRMR: 0.034. The measurement invariance was also examined in terms of gender, nationality, age, place of residence, and educational background where it was discovered that the scale can be used for various populations. The fourth study revealed that the scale has convergent validity, and a high test-retest result (r = .91, p<.001). The final data were collected to analyse the discriminant validity of the study in line with the recommendations of the reviewers.

How were the data gathered?
The 90-item inventory was applied to a group of 199 individuals. The sample consisted of students from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Faculty of Islamic Sciences at a university in Central Anatolia, as well as 32 individuals known by the researchers to have a secular background. For Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the aim was to reach students studying in several faculties at a university located in Central Anatolia using stratified purposeful sampling. For Confirmatory Factor Analysis, a multifaceted approach to participant recruitment was employed to reach a more diverse sample. In this context, the purpose of the study was explained in detail to a group of students and they were asked to include individuals from their own extended families of various educational levels and ages. Approximately 150 students helped to collect data for the present study from their immediate circle and received course credit for it. On the other hand, in order to contact international Muslim students, academics who teach those students’ courses were contacted. For the fourth study, data was collected in two instances. 555 individuals were reached in the first phase of data collection, and Convergent Validity was carried out. After 6 weeks, 138 of the 555 participants were contacted again, and the test-retest were checked. Finally, after the reviewers' evaluations, new data were gathered to examine its discriminant and known-group validities. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. I reached out to individuals who were either studying at or graduated from a theology faculty by collaborating with academics from five different universities.