RESEARCH VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY HOW TO

The period of two weeks was considered long enough for participants to have forgotten their responses but not long enough for a real change to occur in their knowledge on nutrition ( 15- 17). Some students completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions that were two weeks apart. The questionnaire was self-administered in groups at the end of the lectures under the supervision of the authors. The responses to the questionnaire took 3 to 5 minutes. Demographic questions on gender and age were included at the end of the questionnaire. After item analysis, the total number of statements in the final questionnaire was 18 (i.e. This process reduced the number of statements to 20. Using this pool of statements, two reviews were carried out by a panel of three dieticians to select the best in terms of clarity of the questions, accuracy of the knowledge measured, and interpretability. A pool of 46 statements that belonged to these two sections was generated. Each statement had three possible responses (True/False/Not sure). The first section (Section A) included statements about the relationship of DF and health, and the second section (Section B) included statements on the knowledge of DF content in some foods.

On the basis of review of the current material containing dietary advice and the literature linking DF and health, it was decided to divide the questionnaire into two sections. Provided that it has an acceptable reliability and validity, the questionnaire can be used in exploring the level of knowledge on DF among sample of the Turkish population. This study aims to describe the development and validation of a new scale that assesses knowledge on DF in a sample of Turkish students. In that study, more than 50% of the participants (n=200) correctly answered four out of five questions that enquired about the dietary sources of DF. Although there are many studies that have measured the general knowledge on nutrition among Turkish people ( 9- 13), we have come across only one study that specifically aimed to measure the knowledge of DF (in addition to other nutrients) among Turkish adults ( 14). Without adequate knowledge on nutrition, consumers will not be able to make informed choices for their diet and health ( 2).ДЄssessing knowledge on nutrition can lead to the identification of deficient areas of information and, thus, would aid in devising nutrition education programmes.

RESEARCH VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY HOW TO

They need to be aware of not only the nutritional recommendations and basic food-based guidelines but also how to apply this knowledge in their food choices, diet, and eating behaviour ( 8).

The fruit and vegetable consumption by Turkish adults was also found to be inadequate (1.6 portions of fruit and 1.6 portions of vegetables per day) ( 7).Д¬onsumers need to enhance their knowledge and competence as informed consumers are able to perform their food choices in a complex environment with a wide variety of foods available. Various studies have reported that the intake of DF by adolescents ( 3) and university students ( 4- 6) fell below the daily recommended level. There are no accurate data on the daily intake of DF in Turkey. DF consumption may be important in the prevention or control of cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and other health problems ( 2). Dietary fibre (DF) is deemed to be a key component in a healthful diet ( 1).

Research validity and reliability