Open data and its usability: an empirical view from the Citizen\u2019s perspective

Vishanth Weerakkody,Zahir Irani,Kawal Kapoor,Uthayasankar Sivarajah,Yogesh K Dwivedi

doi:10.1007/s10796-016-9679-1

Vishanth Weerakkody, Zahir Irani + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-016-9679-1

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Abstract

Government legislation and calls for greater levels of oversight and transparency are leading public bodies to publish their raw datasets online. Policy makers and elected officials anticipate that the accessibility of open data through online Government portals for citizens will enable public engagement in policy making through increased levels of fact based content elicited from open data. The usability and benefits of such open data are being argued as contributing positively towards public sector reforms, which are under extreme pressures driven by extended periods of austerity. However, there is very limited scholarly studies that have attempted to empirically evaluate the performance of government open data websites and the acceptance and use of these data from a citizen perspective. Given this research void, an adjusted diffusion of innovation model based on Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory (DOI) is proposed and used in this paper to empirically determine the predictors influencing the use of public sector open data. A good understanding of these predictors affecting the acceptance and use of open data will likely assist policy makers and public administrations in determining the policy instruments that can increase the acceptance and use of open data through an active promotion campaign to engage-contribute-use.

Highlights

Open and accessible data revolution is underway
Government departments retained public service data within their systems, with limited information being released to citizens and other stakeholders
Consistent with the theoretical principles underlying the diffusion of innovations theory (DOI) model, this study proposes a positive and significant effect of increased relative advantage on citizens’ intentions to use open data

Summary

Introduction

Citizens no longer want to be passive recipients of legislation that is considered ‘inflicted’ upon them but rather, seek constructive ways to engage-contribute-use the formation of public policy as a means to enhance their civic responsibilities. For this to happen, any engagement needs to orientate around evidence that is underpinned by facts elicited from open sources of big data. Government departments retained public service data within their systems, with limited information being released to citizens and other stakeholders (i.e. businesses, charitable organizations, and NGO communities). The spread of digital governance and associated norms, such as responsiveness, accessibility and efficiency of public services, transparency and accountability (Carter and Weerakkody 2008; Wilcox 2010; Rana et al 2015), have motivated governments to exploit the potential of wider distribution and use of such data (Sivarajah et al 2015, 2016)

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