Digital Competences for Improving Digital Inclusion in E-Government Services: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review Protocol

Abstract

The e-government requires citizens that have a certain level of digital skills. Contact restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of Public Administration in most countries and has increased the social digital divide. Therefore, the training of citizens in digital competences is one of the main challenges of the knowledge society. This mixed-methods systematic review protocol aims to synthesize quantitative and qualitative findings about conditioning factors of digital inclusion, in a multidimensional perspective, related with the education, healthcare and welfare sectors and the political actions involved to improve the digital competences of citizenship for allowing and enhancing their interactions with these online public services. The protocol has been written following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. Nine databases including Web of Science, Scopus, Educational Resources Information Center Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), ProQuest, MEDLINE, PubMed, SocINDEX and Cairn.info will be searched for peer-reviewed empirical studies published from 2011 or later. Grey literature and citation chaining will be undertaken. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies will be included. Data items will be extracted and coded in a standardized format. A convergent segregated approach to synthesis and integration will be used. The results will be of interest to educational policymakers who want to take into account citizens’ digital skills in the design of online services and lifelong learning programs.