Development and preliminary validation of the 20-item Kaufman domains of Creativity Scale for use with Malaysian populations

The 50-item Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS; Kaufman Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts , 6 (4), 298-308, 2012 ) is a relatively new domain-specific self-report scale designed to assess the five different domains of creativity. However, a shorter form of the scale is preferable to reduce participants’ burden. The present research addresses the development of a shorter 20-item K-DOCS (20-K-DOCS) to be used on Malaysian undergraduates across three studies ( N = 1409). On the basis of past findings, the four items with the highest factor loading for each of the five domains were extracted to construct the 20-K-DOCS in Study 1. Exploratory factor analysis on the 20 items showed support to the theoretical five-factor structure. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine and compare the 20-K-DOCS with the parent form of K-DOCS and other competing models. Results indicated that the 20-K-DOCS were superior to all the alternative models. In Study 3, the factorial structure of the 20-K-DOCS was further examined. The five-factor model was supported. Moreover, the 20-K-DOCS showed good internal consistency and acceptable convergence with creative self-efficacy and self-rated creativity. The findings of this study strengthen the evidence that the 20-K-DOCS is a psychometrically equivalent short form of the original K-DOCS. Researchers and educators may consider this brief measurement to assess the five different domains of students’ creativity.