Treffer: Assessment and Modelling of Research Undertaking, Digital-Technology Construct and Researchers' Statistical Software Skills

The study investigated the structural equation modelling of nine variables consisting of research undertaking, digi-tech construct (digital nativity, category of adoption of digital technologies, digital literacy, digital citizenship, statistical software anxiety, self-efficacy and knowledge) and researcher statistical software skills in the Sub-Sahara Africa. Human Functioning Theory and ex-post facto design were adopted. Multi stage sampling techniques were used to select 744 researchers across the Southwestern, Nigerian Universities and research institutes. Assessment of Researcher Digital Literacy--(KR[subscript 20]=0.86), Researcher Statistical Knowledge and Performance Skills--(KR[subscript 20]=0.82) and Researcher Statistical Software Operation Ability--([pi]=0.93) tests, Researcher Digital Construct Response--(r=0.84) and Researcher Statistical Software Anxiety and Efficacy--(r=0.87 and 0.76) scales were used. Data were analysed using path analysis. Eighteen out of the 35-hypothesised paths significantly explained the consistency of the causal model. Research undertaking--(0.02), digital nativity--(0.02), literacy--(0.01), citizenship--(0.06), statistical software anxiety--(0.01), statistical software self-efficacy--(0.02) and statistical software knowledge--(0.18) have 90.7% direct effect, whereas research undertaking--(0.01), digital literacy--(0.09), citizenship--(0.01) and statistical software anxiety--(0.02) accounted for 9.3% indirect effects on researcher statistical software skills. There was a positive causal effect of research undertaking and digi-tech construct on researcher statistical software skills. Therefore, researchers undertaking studies without inputs from digi-tech construct may not achieve sophisticated statistical software skills.

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