Information Literacy at the Workplace : Digital literacy skills required by employees at the workplace

Abstract

Information literacy is a standardized concept to determine the ability of an individual to identify his information needs and have the abilities to locate, access, evaluate and use information efficiently. With the explosion of information through digital environments and increased use of technology tools for management of information, the concept of information literacy is increasingly linked with the concept of digital literacy. With some limitation to the multi-literacies concepts, the study focused on studying essential digital literacy skills required by employees for being operational in digital information environments and solving work-related problems. With the aim of finding key digital skills, the present study posed two main research questions: [1) What kinds of digital literacy skills can be identified in the workplace context? 2) Which key digital literacies are required by employees for effective use of information in problem-solving?]

‘Information Literacy’ and ‘Digital Literacy’ are two abstract concepts, which are inextricably entwined with each other. Several definitions and concepts of these two notions were reviewed to comprehend a theoretical framework as a constructive roadmap for the present study. After reviewing multiple frameworks of digital literacy, the thesis adopted the digital competence framework developed by Ferrari (2012), as an empirical framework. In relation to the various elements of the digital literacy skills, the framework proposes seven different areas of digital competencies that helped with the data collection and the analysis process.

The present study adopted qualitative research method, and a collective case study design was implemented for carrying out an empirical study. The interview was chosen as a data collection method, and semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide that covered questions related to the themes of digital competence areas in the workplace context. In total, six interviews were conducted from personnel representing four different organizations, whose work role varied significantly. The content analysis of the empirical data revealed several interesting findings regarding the digital skills required by the employees at their workplaces.

The findings from the present study revealed that technical knowledge is an important part of being digitally literate, as employees need to have the knowledge and skills to operate different technological tools for various operational activities at the workplace. While technical knowledge is essential, the most crucial skills are evaluation of information, logical and critical thinking skills, which helps to solve problems at work with the support of technology. Thus, it can be comprehended that digital literacy is a subset of information literacy because digital literacy skills are in fact information skills required in the digital information environments. Moreover, the study advocates that it is essential to have a contextual awareness when analyzing digital literacy skills, as the skills requirements depend on the context of digital uses, which can vary depending on the profession and the organizational culture, where employee operate.