The Effectiveness of Gamification in Students' Addiction Information Literacy.

Background: Gamification refers to the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts. Using gamification in education makes educational materials available to learners in a new and attractive way. To this end, the present study sought to investigate the effectiveness of gamification in the field of addiction information literacy. Methods: This applied study was conducted using a quasi-experimental method. The research population consisted of students at Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2023. A total of 32 students were randomly selected as the participants using purposive sampling and were randomly placed in either a control or an intervention group. To conduct the study and collect data, a researcher-made game was used to teach addiction information literacy, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to assess addiction in the participants. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS-21 software. Findings: The data in this study revealed an average level of addiction information literacy in the students in the control group, who completed the questionnaire without playing the game, while a higher level of addiction information literacy was found in the students in the intervention group, who played the game and completed its stages. Conclusion: The findings showed that the implementation of gamification positively affected the students' addiction to information literacy. Providing educational content in the field of addiction through games is more appealing to them and motivates them to pay attention and learn more about addiction. Besides, since students and young people are always busy with their phones, gamification can be implemented anywhere, transferring content to the audience more easily and quickly.