How “accessible” is open data?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the nature and sufficiency of descriptive information included in open datasets and the nature of comments and questions users write in relation to specific datasets. Open datasets are provided to facilitate civic engagement and government transparency. However, making the data available does not guarantee usage. This paper examined the nature of context-related information provided together with the datasets and identified the challenges users encounter while using the resources. Design/methodology/approach The authors extracted descriptive text provided together with (often at the top of) datasets (N = 216) and the nature of questions and comments users post in relation to the dataset. They then segmented text descriptions and user comments into “idea units” and applied open-coding with constant comparison method. This allowed them to come up with thematic issues that descriptions focus on and the challenges users encounter. Findings Results of the analysis revealed that context-related descriptions are limited and normative. Users are expected to figure out how to use the data. Analysis of user comments/questions revealed four areas of challenge they encounter: organization and accessibility of the data, clarity and completeness, usefulness and accuracy and language (spelling and grammar). Data providers can do more to address these issues. Research limitations/implications The purpose of the study is to understand the nature of open data provision and suggest ways of making open data more accessible to “non expert users”. As such, it is not focused on generalizing about open data provision in various countries as such provision may be different based on jurisdiction. Practical implications The study provides insight about ways of organizing open dataset that the resource can be accessible by the general public. It also provides suggestions about how open data providers could consider users' perspectives including providing continuous support. Originality/value Research on open data often focuses on technological, policy and political perspectives. Arguably, this is the first study on analysis of context-related information in open-datasets. Datasets do not “speak for themselves” because they require context for analysis and interpretation. Understanding the nature of context-related information in open dataset is original idea.

Exploring learning opportunities for students in open data portal use across data literacy levels

“…Students have been identified as an important OD user group due to the potential for innovation and trust-building through OD adoption (Lněnička et al , 2022). Levels of awareness of and expertise with OD among students is generally low (Lněničk a et al ., 2022), although the potential of OD portals as teaching environments has been noted (Gebre and Morales, 2020; Saddiqa et al , 2021). As such, there is value in understanding more about the use of OD portals by students at different skill levels (Lněnička et al , 2022).…”

“…Data literacy is defined as an individual’s skill set to “access, interpret, critically assess, manage, handle and ethically use data” (Calzada-Prado and Marzal, 2013); and “the ability to transform data into information for decision making” (Gummer and Mandinach, 2015). Data literacy is a societal priority, given the dramatic rise in data collection and use in a wide range of applications (Gebre and Morales, 2020; Shreiner, 2020). Prior research has established low data literacy levels as one of the main obstacles to OD uptake and use by the general population (Gurstein, 2011; Janssen et al , 2012; Safarov et al , 2017; Gascó-Hernández et al , 2018).…”

“…Key limitations include abilities to assess data quality and suitability and awareness of how data can be used (Gascó-Hernández et al , 2018). At the same time, there is a growing body of research recognizing the potential of OD in supporting the development of data literacy among students, given the ability to design projects that are relevant, realistic and community-oriented (Gebre and Morales, 2020; Saddiqa et al , 2021).…”

“…Our focus is on citizen data consumers, specifically university students, who are nonexpert data users, but important OD stakeholders (Attard et al, 2016;Nikiforova and Lněnička, 2021). While the potential for OD portals to serve as data literacy learning environments exists (Gebre and Morales, 2020;Saddiqa et al, 2021), this value dimension is not currently recognized in OD frameworks (Attard et al, 2016). Furthermore, research indicates that OD portal functionality and usability is low (M achov a et al, 2018;Zuiderwijk and de Reuver, 2021) and context-specific support for different user groups is needed (Ruijer et al, 2017).…”

Impact of information systems (IS) infusion on Open Government Data (OGD) adoption

“…Given the main emphasis of OGD research on value derivation and innovation by a range of stakeholders, extant research has underscored the implications for OGD adoption and usage covering the influence of myriad variables. Invoking a range of variables such as individual skills; perceived sense of urgency; ease of OGD availability and accessibility and the integration of integration of OGD platforms via the social media platforms (Purwanto et al , 2020a); perceived risk linked with the technological, financial, competitive climate that influence the value derivation and innovation pursuits of the stakeholders (Yang et al , 2022); computer self-efficacy and government support provided to the users in the case of Taiwan (Wang, 2020); degree of accessibility, discoverability and accuracy of OGD (Gebre and Morales, 2020); intrinsic motivation, competency, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (Wirtz et al , 2018); and OGD adoption and usage propensities have been scanned. Furthermore, the role of variables such as political satisfaction, government trust and internet usage intensity have been empirically investigated to ascertain OGD adoption and usage (de Souza et al , 2022).…”