Thursday, February 12, 2009

Yet Another TAM Article

Reference: Chin, W.W., Johnson, N, Schwartz, A. (2008), A fast form approach to measuring technology acceptance and other constructs, MIS Quarterly 32:4, 687-703.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's tired of reading articles about the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). As noted by the authors, there were 698 citations of TAM by 2003 in the Science Citation Index, and fully 10% of the total publications in the IS field prior to 2003 could be classified as TAM studies. There may have been a bit of a drop off in the percentage of publications addressing TAM since 2003, but it always surprises me that TAM articles continue to be published (often in top journals). How can there be anything new to say about it after all this time?

But, there are always exceptions. Don't let TAM fatigue dissuade you from reading this article. It is less about TAM and more about using semantic differential scales instead of Likert scales for IS research. The authors demonstrate that, at least in this case, semantic differential scales are easier and quicker to use, provide an equal degree of construct validity, and produce similar to identical relationships among the constructs measured. This is inspiring. I've always used Likert scales before, but I will seriously consider semantic differential scales in the future. So, for example, instead of asking users to agree or disagree on a 7 point scale with the statement, "Using the system enhances my effectiveness," I will ask users to select among 7 options ranging from "The system is effective" to "The system is ineffective."

1 comment:

  1. Interesting that the authors found that semantic differential scales (SDS) "are easier and quicker to use ..." This goes against the typical argument against use of SDS: they increase cognitive demand.

    I think the jury is still out on the advantage of SDS over Likert scales for IS research. To develop a tool to measure user satisfaction, Bailey & Pearson (1983) used a semantic differential technique involving adjective pairs. When Goodhue (1998) later developed his TTF instrument, he justified (but without references) the use of a Likert scales over a semantic technique. While he pointed out Likert scales may be biased by the amount of education of the respondent ("less educated respondents have a greater tendency to agree with all statements"), this wasn't a concern with his study because the participants were highly educated.

    It's a great area for more research.

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