A decade of digital competency: Emerging themes and trends

This study applies Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to analyze 2,288
articles on Digital Competency (DC) from Scopus (2015–2024). It identifies
key research themes, tracks their evolution, and highlights shifts in
research priorities. Fourteen topics emerged, with "Teacher
Education" being the most prominent. Post-COVID-19, DC research
surged, with notable growth in "Scales for Digital Competency
Measurement" and "Higher Education and COVID-19 Digital
Transformation." "Business and Industry 4.0 Transformation"
showed the highest inter-topic acceleration. Conversely, interest in
"Social Media Use" and "Psychological Well-Being"
declined. Although smaller in volume, the "Healthcare" theme
gained momentum. Visualization revealed thematic clusters around
education, business transformation, and assessment methods. The findings
demonstrate a shift toward emerging fields, reflecting technological
advances and evolving societal needs.