ATTITUDES TOWARDS INTERNET USE: DEVELOPMENT AND PROPOSAL OF A MEASUREMENT SCALE

Objective of study: review attitudes towards internet use and the scales used to measure the construct, as well as to propose a multidisciplinary scale to measure it. Methodology / approach: through the systematic literature review, it was identified the construct concepts and measurement tradition. An instrument with nine statements was proposed and validated using a Likert scale. Data were collected through a paper and pencil questionnaire with 287 valid responses. Originality / relevance: this study and the metric may be useful to public policies of digital inclusion, to the set of variables in consumer behavior on Internet, and to the academia, that frames the concept in a fragmented way. Main results: the validity of the scale was assessed through convergent, discriminant and reliability indicators. Two attitudinal factors were identified, one of appreciation and another of aversion, simplifying the fragmented standard found in the literature. Recommendations and norms were stablished to use the scale, considering sample's profile, measurement range, and items sequence. Theoretical / Methodological Contributions: Considering the fragmentation observed in the literature, the present study simplifies the measurement process of the construct. It was developed a nine-item instrument to evaluate the construct through a Likert scale. That allows researchers to use it in studies of digital divide, technology acceptance, consumer behavior, among others.