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

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.