Digital Research Skills in Secondary Science Education: A Guiding Framework and University Teachers’ Perception

Abstract

This study focuses on the perceived gap between the required and actual level of digital research skills (DRS) of students entering tertiary science education. By combining existing frameworks for research skills and digital literacy skills, a guiding framework of DRS was constructed. The DRS framework incorporates seven categories and is evaluated using an exploratory qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with university teachers (N = 15). The level of DRS at the start of university science education and university teachers’ perceptions of first-year students’ level of DRS have been investigated. The results show that the skills of writing a research paper using digital tools, using proper resources, and analysing, transforming, and visualising data were generally found to be wanting.