Abstract:

Digital technologies have become integral to 21st-century living, driving digitalised practices across various domains. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has intensified this trend, demanding increased use of digital technologies in diverse activities. In response, institutions of higher learning have incorporated digital technologies into teaching, learning, and research processes to meet educational objectives. For postgraduate students, digital tools have become essential for accessing published research, generating empirical data, writing dissertations, and communicating with supervisors and other stakeholders. This qualitative case study explored the lived experiences of 14 master's students using digital technologies for research purposes at a teacher education university in Johannesburg, South Africa. Framed by an interpretive paradigm and guided by Digital Literacy Theory, the research aimed to understand how students perceived, engaged with, and leveraged digital tools to facilitate their academic research endeavors. Through thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews and document analysis, findings unveiled a complex tapestry of student experiences shaped by intersecting technological, cognitive, and motivational factors. Prominent benefits included enhanced access to scholarly resources, improved efficiency in data management and analysis, and expanded opportunities for collaboration. However, significant barriers emerged, including uneven digital access, steep learning curves for specialized software, information overload, and concerns about critical engagement with digital sources. Moreover, while students recognized the potential of digital tools to enhance their research, many grappled with integrating these technologies effectively into their academic workflows. Insufficient digital research literacy, coupled with anxieties about over-reliance on technology, often constrained students' ability to fully harness digital affordances for knowledge construction and dissemination. This study's findings underscore the need for reconceptualized approaches to research methods training that holistically address technological equity gaps, foster targeted digital competency development, and provide robust support mechanisms to nurture students' confidence and self-efficacy in digital research environments. Crucially, this research calls for elevating student voices to better understand their contextualized needs, informing responsive curricular and support interventions. Emergent insights illuminate opportunities to enhance digital research literacy, diversify technological support structures, optimize research software training, and cultivate ecosystems where master's students thrive as empowered, digitally-savvy scholars. Such learner-centric innovations have lasting relevance for advancing equitable, sustainable research practices across evolving educational and professional landscapes.

Keywords:

Digital technologies, postgraduate research, teacher education, 4IR, digital literacy, qualitative case study.