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ABSTRACT
Although a number of instruments have been used to measure Internet skills in nationally representative surveys, there are several challenges with the measures available: incompleteness and over-simplification, conceptual ambiguity, and the use of self-reports. Here, we aim to overcome these challenges by developing a set of reliable measures for use in research, practice, and policy evaluations based on a strong conceptual framework. To achieve this goal, we carried out a literature review of skills-related studies to develop the initial Internet skills framework and associated instrument. After the development of this instrument, we used a three-fold approach to test the validity and reliability of the latent skill constructs and the corresponding items. The first step consisted of cognitive interviews held in both the UK and the Netherlands. Based on the cognitive interview results, we made several amendments to the proposed skill items to improve clarity. The second step consisted of a pilot survey of digital skills, both in the UK and in the Netherlands. During the final step, we examined the consistency of the five Internet skill scales and their characteristics when measured in a representative sample survey of Dutch Internet users. The result is a theoretical, empirically and cross-nationally consistent instrument consisting of five types of Internet skills: operational, navigation information, social, creative, and mobile.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Alexander van Deursen is an assistant professor at the Department of Media, Communication and Organization, the University of Twente in the Netherlands. His research focuses on digital inequality. His doctorate dissertation (internationally awarded) focused on inequalities caused by different levels of Internet skills. Recently, along with Prof. Dr. Jan van Dijk "Digital skills," Alexander authored a book unlocking the information society. Alexander is involved in several projects that concern digital Inequality in the Netherlands and digital skills among the workforce. He has published numerous articles on several facets of digital inclusion. [email: [email protected]]
Ellen Helsper is Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor in the Media and Communications Department at the LSE. Her current research interests include the links between social and digital inclusion; (digital) media audiences; mediated interpersonal communication; and quantitative and qualitative methodological developments in media research. Three related research projects she is involved in at the moment are the development of a digital inclusion index and Heat Map for the UK’s Government Digital Services and Go On UK, longitudinal analysis of World Internet Project, and the Global Kids Online project. [email: [email protected]]
Rebecca Eynon holds a joint academic post between the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Since 2000, her research has focused on education, learning, and inequalities, and she has carried out projects in a range of settings and life stages. Rebecca is co-editor of Learning, Media and Technology and has published a number of academic articles, reports, and conference papers. Her work has been supported by a range of funders, including the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Commission, Google, and the NominetTrust. [email: [email protected]]
Notes
1. This phrasing was based on external validity testing through performance tests in the Netherlands which explored whether answers to the survey questions corresponded to actual ability to perform these skills in a laboratory setting (Van Deursen, Van Dijk & Peters, Citation2012).