Behind the Web site: An inside look at the production of Web-based textual government information

Eschenfelder, Kristin R.

doi:10.1016/j.giq.2004.04.004

Cited by 58 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Civic engagement may come at some political and material cost to participants, so that they weigh the perceived costs and benefits in deciding whether to take part (Klandermans 1984). Reflecting an exchange view of resource investment and outcomes, some agencies try to compensate for participants' expenses and opportunity costs, for example by providing childcare and meals at meetings, or to reduce the costs of participation through Internet-based media (Klein 1999;Eschenfelder 2004). Members of the public possess the resources for participation in different amounts, however.…”

Section: Resources and Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generating Resources and Energizing Frameworks Through Inclusive Public Management

Feldman

Quick

2009

International Public Management Journal

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Section: Resources and Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generating Resources and Energizing Frameworks Through Inclusive Public Management

Feldman

Quick

2009

International Public Management Journal

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“…Some reports have even investigated the online activities of municipalities worldwide (Choudrie, Ghinea & Weerakkody, 2004;Holzer et al, 2006). The topics addressed in these studies vary widely from the accessibility of municipal websites (Potter, 2003;Shi, 2007;Jaeger, 2006) to textual content (Eschenfelder, 2004;Eschenfelder & Miller, 2007) to government-citizen interaction (Chadwick & May, 2003;Welch & Fulla, 2005;Griffin & Halpin, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating municipal websites: A methodological comparison of three think-aloud variants

Haak

Jong

Schellens

2009

Government Information Quarterly

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Usability methods have received relatively little methodological attention within the field of E-Government. This paper aims to address this gap by reporting on a usability test of the municipal website of Deventer (the Netherlands), carried out by means of three variants of the think-aloud method (concurrent/retrospective think-aloud protocols and constructive interaction). These three methods had proved successful in a previous evaluation of a different municipal website, yet we decided to replicate our study in order to investigate whether the three methods would reveal different results when applied to another municipal website with a different information architecture. The results of our study showed that, as in the previous municipal website evaluation, the three evaluation methods were largely comparable in terms of output. Nevertheless, we did find a number of differences between the present and previous municipal website evaluation regarding the workings of the three methods-differences that could be explained by the different information architectures of the municipal websites tested. This suggests that the three evaluation methods might indeed work differently depending on the nature of the website that is being evaluated, and calls for more research into the effect of task type on the validity of evaluation methods.

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“…She offers a "roadmap" or framework for generating theory from case study research and indicates that "this research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. " Eschenfelder (2004) applies an exploratory multicase study approach and a grounded theory methodology to the study of the production of textual content for American government websites using the organization as the unit of analysis. Prior research suggests that grounded theory and case study is a suitable approach to the little researched, situated practice of web IA in large organizations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity and the practice of web information architecture

Burford

2011

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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This article describes the outcomes of research that examined the practice of web information architecture (IA) in large organizations. Using a grounded theory approach, seven large organizations were investigated and the data were analyzed for emerging themes and concepts. The research finds that the practice of web IA is characterized by unpredictability, multiple perspectives, and a need for responsiveness, agility, and negotiation. This article claims that web IA occurs in a complex environment and has emergent, self-organizing properties. There is value in examining the practice as a complex adaptive system. Using this metaphor, a pre-determined, structured methodology that delivers a documented, enduring, information design for the web is found inadequate -dominant and traditional thinking and practice in the organization of information are challenged.The World Wide Web has evolved to become a major communicating and informing medium and few modern organizations would defy the societal demand to inform via an enterprise website. As the web continues its growth in significance to organizations for information delivery, effective structuring of online information is essential to support the business and communication endeavour. Intrinsic to the nature of hypertext, a website will have an information structures regardless of whether an organization consciously implements a process for web information architecture (IA) and assembles web information with awareness and expertise. Yet the ability of website users to find information is paramount and enabled by attention to information design. Effective online information structures are a vital organizational asset and are a front on which "the struggle for commercial supremacy through information is being fought" (Evernden & Evernden, 2003, p. 95).Among other systematic approaches, an evolving structured methodology for the practice of web IA, pioneered by information professionals Rosenfeld and Morville (1998), is widely acknowledged in the literature, in education, and by practitioners. It provides a methodological and theoretical backdrop for practice in large organizations. Structured approaches to web IA have drawn on the expertise of information professionals from other traditions who have signaled the need to take control of this emergent information space and introduce processes for organizing information. At the same time, the emergent nature of the web's growth and development and the ease of participation in website publishing by multiple organizational stakeholders introduce unprecedented challenges in the structuring of information in a new information environment without established traditions and practices.Researchers have targeted specific facets of organizing website information within the enterprise. Eschenfelder (2003) examines the organizational conflict involved in developing a web IA and finds that a website must often serve multiple audiences leading to goal conflict between different organizational subunits with different target customers. ...

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Behind the Web site: An inside look at the production of Web-based textual government information

Cited by 58 publications

References 35 publications

Generating Resources and Energizing Frameworks Through Inclusive Public Management

Generating Resources and Energizing Frameworks Through Inclusive Public Management

Evaluating municipal websites: A methodological comparison of three think-aloud variants

Complexity and the practice of web information architecture

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