IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v12y2022i1p21582440211068492.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Reliable and Valid are the Evaluations of Digital Competence in Higher Education: A Systematic Mapping Study

Author

Listed:
  • Rafael Saltos-Rivas
  • Pavel Novoa-Hernández
  • Rocío Serrano Rodríguez

Abstract

Evaluating digital competencies has become a topic of growing interest in recent years. Although several reviews and studies have summarized the main elements of progress and shortcomings in this area, some issues are yet to be explored. Very little information is available about the ways of ensuring the validity and reliability of the instrument used. This study addresses this issue through systematic mapping covering the period from January 2015 to July 2020. Based on 88 primary studies, we conclude that a growing number of studies have emerged over the years; most of them are based on European university students in social science programs; the quality of the journals where they were published is low; and the instruments used are mostly questionnaires and ad-hoc surveys that measure the various dimensions of digital competence based on participants’ perceptions. Out of the eight possible types of quality assessment, studies commonly report only four (one in the case of reliability and three in the case of validity). More than 50% of the studies do not provide evidence of having assessed the reliability and validity at the same time. Although participant discipline resulted in a significantly association with the practice of reporting reliability and validity assessments, no specific dimension explained such association. A non-parametric multivariate analysis reveals, among other interesting patterns, that the practice of not reporting quality assessments is more present in studies where participants belong to the fields of Engineering and Technology, Health Sciences, and Humanities.

Suggested Citation

  • Rafael Saltos-Rivas & Pavel Novoa-Hernández & Rocío Serrano Rodríguez, 2022. "How Reliable and Valid are the Evaluations of Digital Competence in Higher Education: A Systematic Mapping Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440211, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440211068492
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440211068492
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440211068492
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440211068492?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wei-Yin Loh, 2014. "Fifty Years of Classification and Regression Trees," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 82(3), pages 329-348, December.
    2. Stephanie Carretero & Riina Vuorikari & Yves Punie, 2017. "DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use," JRC Research Reports JRC106281, Joint Research Centre.
    3. Atanu Sengupta & Sanjoy De, 2020. "Review of Literature," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Assessing Performance of Banks in India Fifty Years After Nationalization, chapter 0, pages 15-30, Springer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Annika Kreuder & Ulrich Frick & Katrin Rakoczy & Sabine J. Schlittmeier, 2024. "Digital competence in adolescents and young adults: a critical analysis of concomitant variables, methodologies and intervention strategies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Núñez-Canal, Margarita & de Obesso, Mª de las Mercedes & Pérez-Rivero, Carlos Alberto, 2022. "New challenges in higher education: A study of the digital competence of educators in Covid times," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. José María López-Sanz & Azucena Penelas-Leguía & Pablo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez & Pedro Cuesta-Valiño, 2021. "Sustainable Development and Consumer Behavior in Rural Tourism—The Importance of Image and Loyalty for Host Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Cristina Blasi Casagran & Colleen Boland & Elena Sánchez-Montijano & Eva Vilà Sanchez, 2021. "The Role of Emerging Predictive IT Tools in Effective Migration Governance," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(4), pages 133-145.
    4. Maria Maddalena Sirufo & Francesca De Pietro & Alessandra Catalogna & Lia Ginaldi & Massimo De Martinis, 2021. "The Microbiota-Bone-Allergy Interplay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Oleh Pasko & Mykola Hordiyenko & Fuli Chen & Yarmila Tkal & Yulia Abraham, 2021. "Mapping Global Research on International Financial Reporting Standards: A Scientometric Review," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 12(3), pages 116-134, May.
    6. Zhang, Tianyu & Dong, Peiwu & Zeng, Yongchao & Ju, Yanbing, 2022. "Analyzing the diffusion of competitive smart wearable devices: An agent-based multi-dimensional relative agreement model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 90-105.
    7. Vitor Hugo Ferreira & André da Costa Pinho & Dickson Silva de Souza & Bárbara Siqueira Rodrigues, 2021. "A New Clustering Approach for Automatic Oscillographic Records Segmentation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Maurizio Massaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Carlo Bagnoli, 2020. "Crypto‐economy and new sustainable business models: Reflections and projections using a case study analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2150-2160, September.
    9. Ines A. Ferreira & Rachel M. Gisselquist & Finn Tarp, 2021. "On the impact of inequality on growth, human development, and governance," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-34, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. He Tingting, 2021. "Comparing Money and Time Donation: What Do Experiments Tell Us?," Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations, Sciendo, vol. 41(3), pages 65-94, September.
    11. Beatriz Calzada Olvera & Mario Gonzalez-Sauri & Federico Louvin & David-Alexander Harings Moya, 2021. "COVID-19 in Central America: effects of firm resilience and policy responses on employment," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-166, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Alberto Cerezo-Narváez & Andrés Pastor-Fernández & Manuel Otero-Mateo & Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez, 2022. "The Influence of Knowledge on Managing Risk for the Success in Complex Construction Projects: The IPMA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-30, August.
    13. Iversen, Sara V. & Naomi, van der Velden & Convery, Ian & Mansfield, Lois & Holt, Claire D.S., 2022. "Why understanding stakeholder perspectives and emotions is important in upland woodland creation – A case study from Cumbria, UK," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    14. Kik, M.C. & Claassen, G.D.H. & Meuwissen, M.P.M. & Smit, A.B. & Saatkamp, H.W., 2021. "Actor analysis for sustainable soil management – A case study from the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    15. Rafidah Md Noor & Nadia Bella Gustiani Rasyidi & Tarak Nandy & Raenu Kolandaisamy, 2020. "Campus Shuttle Bus Route Optimization Using Machine Learning Predictive Analysis: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-24, December.
    16. Dominika Ehrenbergerová & Martin Hodula & Zuzana Gric, 2022. "Does capital-based regulation affect bank pricing policy?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 135-167, April.
    17. Bergeaud Antonin & Ray Simon, 2020. "The macroeconomics of teleworking [Macroéconomie du télétravail]," Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 231.
    18. Ana Iolanda Vodă & Cristina Cautisanu & Camelia Grădinaru & Chris Tănăsescu & Gustavo Herminio Salati Marcondes de Moraes, 2022. "Exploring Digital Literacy Skills in Social Sciences and Humanities Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-31, February.
    19. Ana Teresa Ferreira-Oliveira & José Keating & Isabel Silva, 2020. "Sustainable HRM as a Pathway to Sustainability—HRMS Relevance on Affective Commitment through Organizational Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-27, November.
    20. Lauren R. Gullett & Dana M. Alhasan & W. Braxton Jackson & Chandra L. Jackson, 2022. "Employment Industry and Occupational Class in Relation to Serious Psychological Distress in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-26, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440211068492. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.