Designing and validating the methodology for the Internet assessment of fish consumption at a university setting

• Main Authors: Erika da Silva Maciel, Julia Santos Vasconcelos, Luciana Kimie Savay da Silva, Jaqueline Girnos Sonati, Juliana Galvão, Dirceu da Silva, Marília Oetterer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos 2014-06-01
• Series: Food Science and Technology
• Subjects: fish consumption; structural equation modeling; Internet; questionnaire
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-20612014000200015&lng=en&tlng=en

Assessing fish consumption is complex and involves several factors; however, the use of questionnaires in surveys and the use of the Internet as tool to collect data have been considered promising approaches. Therefore, the objective of this research was to design a data collection technique using a questionnaire to assess fish consumption by making it available on a specific home page on the Internet. A bibliographical survey or review was carried out to identify the features of the instrument, and therefore pre-tests were conducted with previous instruments, followed by the Focus Group technique. Specialists then performed an analysis and conducted an online pre-test. Multivariate data analysis was applied using the SmartPLS software. The results indicate that 1.966 participants belonging to the University of São Paulo (USP) community participated in the test, and after the exclusion of some variables, a statistically significant results were obtained. The final constructs comprised consumption, quality, and general characteristics. The instrument consisted of behavioral statements in a 5-point Likert scale and multiple-choice questions. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was 0.66 for general characteristics, 0.98 for quality, and 0.91 for consumption, which indicate good reliability of the instrument. In conclusion, the results proved that the Internet assessment is efficient. The instrument of analysis allowed us to better understand the process of buying and consuming fish in the country, and it can be used as base for further research.