Literacy and training in digital research: Researchers’ views in five social science and humanities disciplines

Abstract

This article examines the views of researchers in five social science and humanities disciplines on their digital literacy and the training they need or have undertaken. Theoretically, this article draws upon two competing conceptualisations of digital literacy: digital literacy as ‘user skills’ and digital literacy as ‘user–technology interactivity’. Empirically, it suggests that social science and humanities researchers’ understandings and evaluations of their digital literacy unfold at two levels – the factual and the perceptual – and involve not only (technical) skills but also user experiences, emotions and complex processes of learning, practising and self-development when interacting with technology. Furthermore, researchers challenge the value of generic institutional training for literacy enhancement and envision the development of informal communities of experience exchange and knowledge-sharing across the research community. These findings lead to recommendations on training provision and support the conceptualisation of digital literacy as a process where user interactivity with technology results in certain experiences, reflections and lessons, rather than merely reflecting users’ technical skills.

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