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The questionnaire constructed by Schommer is regularly used in studies on epistemological beliefs. This contribution raises some questions about the appropriateness of this instrument to measure epistemological beliefs. This paper presents a critical review of the relevant literature and discusses the use of (a translated version of) the questionnaire in two empirical studies. In the review section, the construction, validation and use of the questionnaire by Schommer and some other authors are analysed. The results of the empirical studies are reported in the second section. In neither of these two studies, the factor structure of Schommer (1990) could be retrieved. Moreover, in both studies, a different factor structure was found. Given the differences in the factor structures, in both studies attempts were made to construct reliable scales. These attempts reveal counter-indications for using the instrument: all scales contain only a limited number of items and are not very reliable.
Clarebout et al. (Thu,) studied this question.