A Measurement of the Status of Frontiersmen’ Media Literacy: A Case Study of Cross-border Iranian Citizens of West Azerbaijan Province

The aim of this study is to assess the media literacy status of cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province in terms of the status of their media literacy, and their ability to receive, evaluate, influence, and analyze media messages (as one of the influential factors)

This is an applied study in terms of purpose that was conducted using a descriptive-survey method. The research statistical population included all border residents of West Azerbaijan province, from whom 384 people were selected as the sample size using Cochran's formula and multi-stage cluster sampling and then simple random sampling. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the index UNESCO World Literacy Media and localized scientific texts which were presented to 10 experts. Given that the minimum value required to achieve content validity based on the opinions of 10 experts is 0/62 according to the CVR index and 0/79 according to the CVI index, all items with a value lower than 0/62 and 0/79 were omitted from the questionnaire. The research data were processed using SPSS software version 26.

The level of media literacy of men was higher than that of women. In the married and single groups, the difference between the two groups is not significant. The level of media literacy of people living in the city was higher than that of villagers. As citizens’ monthly incomes increased, their level of media literacy increased.

The results showed that the status of media literacy of the cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province is at a weak level. Considering the results of this research, public libraries can provide library services and training courses required to improve the level of media literacy of the cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province.