Investigating the Data Literacy Level of Postgraduate Students of the University of Tabriz and the Factors Affecting It

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: This research aimed to investigate the data literacy level of post-graduate students of the University of Tabriz and the factors affecting it.
Methods: According to the purpose of the research, it is applied and in terms of the type, the method of collecting and analyzing the data is a descriptive survey. The study population of this research was post-graduate students of the University of Tabriz which were 6702 students, and according to the table of Krejci and Morgan, the number of 363 students was estimated as the sample size. The sampling method was the stratified random sampling. The research tool was a questionnaire developed by Ganbari (2019), which was designed based on the dimensions of data understanding, collection and organization, management, evaluation, and use of data. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney statistical tests and Spearman's correlation coefficient were also used to analyze the data.
Results: The results of the research showed that the level of data literacy of the students participating in the research for the questions related to data literacy was 4.0967 and it is at a good level. In addition, it was found that there is no significant difference in the level of data literacy of students in terms of variables such as gender, scientific field, and field of study. However, the results of this research showed that there is a significant difference in the level of data literacy of the given students in terms of variables such as different age ranges, master's degree, and doctoral levels, as well as between the selection or non-selection of the Proposal Unit and the different stages of thesis compilation and writing. Also, in addition to the background factors affecting the level of data literacy, a significant relationship was observed between the holding of university classes, educational workshops, and informal classes and the level of data literacy of students.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that due to the significant difference in data literacy among students of different educational levels, and students who have entered the thesis/dissertation stage and the existence of a significant relationship between the educational courses completed by the students and their level of data literacy, there should be the necessary effort to strengthen the courses that cause practical involvement of students in the thesis/dissertation to increase their level of data literacy in different universities of Iran.

Keywords

References

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Academic Librarianship and Information Research
Volume 57, Issue 1
March 2023
Pages 1-14

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