Skip to content
Home▶ Journals▶ Indian Journal of Extension Education▶Archive▶Vol. 62 No. 4 (2026)▶Development and Standardization of a Scale to Measure…
Indian Journal of Extension Education
Research Tool

Development and Standardization of a Scale to Measure Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change

, , , ,
Pawan Kumar Gupta — Research Scholar
Uma Sah — Principal Scientist, Division of Social Science, Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Ayush Mishra — Teaching Associate, Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur-208002, Uttar Pradesh, India
Dileep Vyas — Research Scholar
Shivam Singh — Research Scholar
Published 28 Sep 2026 Vol. 62 No. 4 (2026), pp. 238-242 ● Open access
Formats:PDF ● Open access
Download PDF

Abstract

A standardized Likert Summated Rating Scale was developed during 2025 to measure the perception of farmers towards climate change across four chosen dimensions (Temperature and rainfall variability, Extreme weather events, Crop productivity, and Socio-economic impacts). Initially, 58 statements were framed based on Edwards’ criteria, of which 20 statements were eliminated following the relevancy test with 68 expert judges. The remaining 38 statements were pilot tested among 60 respondents from a non-sample area. After conducting item analysis using the critical ratio (t-value) technique, 10 statements were discarded. The final scale consists of 28 statements (7 positive and 21 negative), reflecting the predominantly risk-oriented nature of climate change perception. The internal reliability was established using Cronbach’s alpha, which showed a high reliability coefficient of 0.875. Further, the split-half reliability yielded Spearman Brown and Pearson coefficients of 0.948 and 0.901, respectively, which established a high internal consistency. This scale provides a reliable tool for researchers, extension personnel, and policymakers to accurately assess farmers’ perception, thereby facilitating targeted climate resilience and adaptation strategies.

KeywordsAgricultureClimate changeFarmersPerceptionScale

The full text of this article is available as a PDF.

Download PDF
  1. Cronbach, L. J. (1946). A case study of the split-half reliability coefficient. Journal of Educational Psychology, 37(1), 473–480.
  2. Edwards, A. L. (1957). Techniques of attitude scale construction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Inc.
  3. Edwards, A. L., & Kilpatrick, F. P. (1948). A technique for construction of attitude scale. Journal of Applied Psychology, 32, 374–384.
  4. IPCC. (2018). Global warming of 1.5°C: Summary for policymakers. IPCC. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157940.001
  5. IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: Synthesis report: Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (R. K. Pachauri & A. Reisinger, Eds.). IPCC.
  6. IPCC. (2014). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability: Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC.
  7. Kerlinger, F. N. (1973). Foundations of behavioral research (2nd ed.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  8. Kumar, A., & Saxena, S. P. (2024). Farmers’ awareness and perception about climate change in the Indo-Gangetic plain region of India. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 60(4), 101–106. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2024.60418
  9. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 5–55.
  10. Mallick, B., Das, S., Mishra, S. K., Nayak, M. P., Mishra, B., Dash, A., & Sarangi, K. K. (2026). Development of a scale to assess flood consequence perception among rice and wheat growers in Odisha and Bihar. Plant Science Today, 13(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.11343
  11. Ministry of Finance. (2026). Economic survey 2025–26. Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India.
  12. Mishra, A., Malik, J. S., Chikkalaki, A. S., Ram Niwas, & Bhavesh. (2024). A comparative study of knowledge level of climate smart agricultural practices (CSAP) among paddy farmers in eastern Haryana. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 60(3), 77–82. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2024.60315
  13. Mishra, A., Malik, J. S., & Bhavesh. (2024). Constraints faced by paddy farmers in adoption of climate smart agricultural practices: A comparative study. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 60(2), 95–99. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2024.602RN1
  14. Mukherjee, A., Singh, P., Rakshit, S. S., & Burman, R. R. (2018). Development and standardization of scale to measure farmer’s attitude towards farmers’ producer company. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 54(4), 84–90. https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IJEE/article/view/143569
  15. Nelson, G. C., Rosegrant, M. W., Koo, J., Robertson, R., Sulser, T., Zhu, T., & Lee, D. (2009). Impact on agriculture and costs of adaptation. South Asia, 6(5.5), 4–4.
  16. Pathak, D. K., Gupta, B. K., Mishra, G., Suryavanshi, A., Mishra, B. P., & Singh, L. (2026). Development and standardization of a scale to measure farmers’ risk perception towards climate change. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 62(2), 149–155. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2026.622RT03
  17. Phebe, M. O., Chakravarty, R., & Joseph, M. B. (2024). Impact of climate change on crop and dairy farming in Telangana: Agricultural scientists perspective. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 60(1), 41–45. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2024.60108
  18. Reddy, M. P. S., Nair, J. G., & Somanath, G. (2025). A scale to measure farmers’ perception of capacity needs under NICRA. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 61(4), 176–179. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2025.614RT04
  19. Shitu, G. A., Nain, M. S., & Kobba, F. (2018). Development of scale for assessing farmers’ attitude towards precision conservation agricultural practices. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 88(3), 499–504. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v88i3.78741
  20. Thakur, P., & Sharma, D. D. (2017). Farmer’s attitude towards modern farm mechanization. International Journal of Applied and Pure Science and Agriculture, 2(8), 158–164.
  21. Thurstone, L. L., & Chave, E. (1929). The measurement of attitudes. University of Chicago Press.
  22. Van Valkengoed, A. M., Steg, L., & Perlaviciute, G. (2021). Development and validation of a climate change perceptions scale. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 76, 101652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101652

Looking up citing articles…