Cited by 21Digital literacy in educationLibrary Science and Information LiteracyArtificial Intelligence in Education

Exploring researchers’ artificial intelligence (AI) literacy: The mediating role of digital literacy and data literacy between 21st century skills and AI literacy

Seker, Oznur, Kwon, Kyungbin, Kocak, Omer·2025·Information Development

Abstract

Many researchers have started using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the different parts of their scientific research processes. A high level of AI literacy is required to utilize AI tools effectively. AI literacy also includes many cognitive and technical skills. These pre-requisite skills can impact researchers’ AI usage competencies. In this context, the current study aimed to investigate the determinants of researchers’ AI literacy from the demographic variables and twenty-first century skills. For this purpose, a model was created with 24 hypotheses and tested using data collected by 708 researchers from various universities in Türkiye. Non-experts AI literacy, digital literacy, data literacy, and computational thinking scales, and demographic information form were used as data collection tools. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to reveal the relationship among the variables. The results revealed that digital literacy and data literacy skills are the strongest predictors of AI literacy. In addition, digital literacy and data literacy have mediating roles between the some 21st skills and AI literacy. There are also some demographic variables such as English language level and frequency of AI use, which are the significant predictors of AI literacy.

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Crossref · 10.1177/02666669251336368

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  • Many researchers may lack sufficient AI literacy to fully understand how AI algorithms function, where biases originate, and how AI-generated knowledge is structured.

    “However, many researchers may lack sufficient AI literacy [16, 70] to fully understand how AI algorithms function, where biases originate, and how AIgenerated knowledge is structured.”

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Authors
Seker, O., Kwon, K., & Kocak, O.
Affiliations
  • Artvin Coruh University (TR)
  • Indiana University Bloomington (US)
  • Department of Information & Document Management, Department of Educational Technology, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Türkiye
Venue
Information Development
Published
2025-04-23
ISSN
  • 0266-6669 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-6469
OpenAlex
W4409722465
Cited by
21
References
83
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 3
FWCI
21.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Information Development (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital literacy in education
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Artificial Intelligence in Education
Keywords
AI literacy, digital literacy, data literacy, 21st century skills, computational thinking, researchers, mediating role, English proficiency, demographic predictors

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