Evaluating the Perceived Persuasiveness Questionnaire by Applying a Closed Card Sorting Task

This research aims to contribute to the validation of the Perceived Persuasiveness Questionnaire (PPQ) by investigating whether the items of the PPQ match the original constructs. The study includes 35 participants, mostly German university students, who conducted a closed card sort by sorting the PPQ items with the nine constructs of the PPQ. The researcher analysed the data in form of a qualitative analysis, based on two types of frequency tables of all the sorted items and conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis using SPSS. Most of the PPQ items were found to match the constructs they are intended to measure, except for some items which turned out to match an alternative construct more than the original construct or seemed to match two constructs. The cluster analysis resulted in a formation of five constructs of which two were similar to the original constructs. Furthermore, one new construct was found containing items of four different original constructs. Contrasting results with previous research underline the need for further research to contribute to the validation of the PPQ. A final version of the questionnaire could help to facilitate the use of persuasive elements used in eHealth technologies during the development and after implementation.