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An evaluation of U.S. municipal open data portals: A user interaction framework

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  • Xiaohua Zhu
  • Mark Antony Freeman

Abstract

As an increasing number of open government data (OGD) portals are created, an evaluation method is needed to assess these portals. In this study, we drew from the existing principles and evaluation methods to develop a User Interaction Framework, with concrete criteria in five dimensions: Access, Trust, Understand, Engage‐integrate, and Participate. The framework was then used to evaluate the current OGD sites created and maintained by 34 U.S. municipal government agencies. The results show that, overall, portals perform well in terms of providing access, but not so well in helping users understand and engage with data. These findings indicate room for improvement in multiple areas and suggest potential roles for information professionals as data mediators. The study also reveals that portals using the Socrata platform performed better, regarding user access, trust, engagement, and participation. However, the variability among portals indicates that some portals should improve their platforms to achieve greater user engagement and participation. In addition, city governments need to develop clear plans about what data should be available and how to make them available to their public.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaohua Zhu & Mark Antony Freeman, 2019. "An evaluation of U.S. municipal open data portals: A user interaction framework," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 70(1), pages 27-37, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jinfst:v:70:y:2019:i:1:p:27-37
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.24081
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    Cited by:

    1. Mark E. Phillips & Pamela Andrews & Ana Krahmer, 2019. "Understanding Connections: Examining Digital Library and Institutional Repository Use Overlap," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-10, June.
    2. Abdullah Almuqrin & Ibrahim Mutambik & Abdulaziz Alomran & Jeffrey Gauthier & Majed Abusharhah, 2022. "Factors Influencing Public Trust in Open Government Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Vigan Raca & Goran Velinov & Stefan Dzalev & Margita Kon-Popovska, 2022. "A Framework for Evaluation and Improvement of Open Government Data Quality: Application to the Western Balkans National Open Data Portals," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.

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