Main Article Content

Abstract

The fast evolution of technology makes digital competencies mandatories in all professional contexts. The authors conducted a study aiming to systematize the design and validation of an instrument to measure digital skills for research. The methodology included a literature review to identify the theoretical bases and the dimensions or components of digital skills and the design of the questionnaire. Secondly, its validity was tested through the Content Validity Index (CVI) with the judgment of six experts and the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) after a pilot study with a sample of 96 researchers. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient test was performed to assess reliability. The results yielded the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) determined sampling adequacy (KMO= .830) and a significant Bartlett's sphericity test (p= .000). The anti-image matrix showed high values except for the first item that did not reach the critical threshold in the communality’s values; so, it was removed. The validity test showed a high content validity coefficient (IVC= .98). Regarding the EFA, the six-factor analysis revealed that nine out of the 14 items showed factor loading > 0.7. The reliability test also showed positive results (ɑ=.874). In conclusion, the results obtained in the present study validate the questionnaire as an accurate and reliable tool for assessing the digital competencies of researchers. This may be a useful tool in the initial phases of policy planning for strengthening scientific production and closing digital competencies gaps in universities.

Keywords

Digital Skills Researchers Content Validity Factorial Analysis

Article Details

Author Biographies

Bexi Perdomo, University of Sciences and Arts of Latin America (UCAL)

Dr. in Human Sciences, MSc. in Education, Lic in Education, and Lawyer. She is a researcher accredited in Peru and Venezuela. She is currently a research professor at the Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de América Latina (UCAL), Lima-Peru. She is a member of the editorial board and peer reviewer for scientific journals in several countries. She has been a lecturer and workshop facilitator at national and international scientific congresses. She has registered over 80 scientific publications including books, chapters, and articles in indexed journals. She has been lecturer in many international scientific meetings and has participated in inter-institutional scientific exchanges in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. She has also received awards for her achievements as a teacher and researcher.

Oscar Alberto Morales, Universidad de Los Andes (ULA)

Bachelor's Degree in Education, Master's Degree in Education, Universidad de Los Andes; Master's degree in Linguistics and PhD in Multilingual Communication, Pompeu Fabra University. I also did a postdoctoral stay at Pompeu Fabra University, thanks to a grant from the Carolina Foundation, Spain. He has published more than 100 articles on science communication, academic reading and writing, teacher training, evaluation and discourse analysis at different educational levels in the following international journals. In addition, I have presented more than 50 papers and conferences at different national and international events, some of which have been published in the respective proceedings of these events. He has been invited to carry out research stays in the Department of Spanish Philology of the University of Granada, Spain, to give a series of conferences and workshops in some Argentine universities (University of Buenos Aires, University of Luján, University of Tandil, University of the Northeast of Corrientes) and in the Ceferino Namuncurá Foundation, Puerto Madryn, Patagonia Argentina; to do a PhD visiting scholar at the University of Michigan, USA, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain.

How to Cite
Perdomo, B., & Morales, O. A. (2024). Design and validation of a questionnaire to assess digital skills for research. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 20(3), 83-89. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1136008

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