A semantic network analysis of categorization in open government data portals
| Date | 21 November 2024 |
| Pages | 41-60 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-05-2024-0147 |
| Published date | 21 November 2024 |
| Author | Eun G. Park |
A semantic network analysis of
categorization in open
government data portals
Eun G. Park
Department of Library and Information Science,
Kyonggi University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to evaluate the semantic relationships between category terms that are used in
open government data (OGD) portalsand those identified in policy documents through the implementation of
a semantic networkanalysis.
Design/methodology/approach –This study was conductedin three stages. Firstly, the study examinedthe
semantic relationshipsbetween category terms in OGD portals by constructinga similarity matrix based on the
terms’co-occurrence and visualizing six-word groups. Secondly, the study investigated the semantic
relationships amongterms in OGD policy documents using latent semantic analysis and communitydetection
methods, resulting in the identificationand visualization of three network groups. Finally, the study used chi-
squared and Z-tests to analyse differences in category terms between countries with and without redefined
categories.
Findings –The results indicatethat the three-word groups were identified by communitydetection, covering
various aspects of government. In addition, there is a significant difference between the two countrygroups,
with category termsbeing more prevalent in countries with predefined categories.This emphasizes the impact
of categorizationon term prevalence within OGD portals.
Originality/value –This study uniquely focuseson the categorization of government portals for sustainable
open data management. The findingsunderscore the importance of effectively structuring and organizingdata
categoriesto enhance user discoverability and accessibility in OGDportals.
Keywords Open government data, Open government data portals, Semantic network analysis,
Latent semantic analysis, Community detection, Category, Categorization
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Open government data (OGD) plays a crucial rolein advancing democratic principles, such
as transparency, accountability, citizen participation and innovation within society (Janssen
et al., 2012;Veljkovićet al., 2014). Over the years, many countries, including those in the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have actively pursued
OGD initiatives (Ubaldi, 2013) and implemented OGD portals, leading to significant
proliferation worldwide (Statista, 2022). These OGD portals are meticulously designed to
deliver open data to citizens through user-friendly interfaces that are adaptable to varying
levels of technical expertise (Mutambik et al., 2021). As the evaluation of OGD portals
inherently reflects the value of open data, ongoing discussions revolve around how to
The author would like to express her sincerest gratitude to Dr James Danowski for his guidance on
data analysis and assistance in using the WORDij package.
The Electronic
Library
41
Received19May 2024
Revised14September2024
Accepted23 O ctober 2024
TheElectronic Library
Vol.43 No. 1, 2025
pp. 41-60
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-05-2024-0147
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0264-0473.htm
optimize the organization and presentation of the portals to enhance discoverability and
accessibility (Ubaldi,2013;Wang et al., 2023).
One notable aspect of OGD portals is how they integratethe categories or themes within
them, which emerge as a fundamental strategy for systematically classifying a vast array of
datasets. Categories serve as an organizational mechanism to facilitate the allocationof data
or documents into specific groups based on predefinedtopics or subjects. This approach not
only enhances efficiency for data managers but also aids user navigation by enabling
category-specificsearches.
However, despitethe significance of categories in OGD portals, research that is dedicated
to categories has been limited. Todate, there is variation in the amount of category terms and
the selection of terminology across portals. Moreover, there is still a lack of research
investigating the semantic relationships embedded within these categories. Thus, our study
addresses this gap by analysing the frequency and semantic connections of terms used in
categories. By examining a corpus of policy documentsrelated to open government, we aim
to identify important terms and evaluate their contribution to enhancing semantic
relationships. Additionally, we assess the significance of these terms by comparing their
importance acrossportals with and without categories in OGD portals.
The remainder of this paper is organized into six sections. Section 2 presents a reviewof
the literature on the evaluation and categorization of OGD portals. Section 3 explains the
data collection and analysis methods used to conduct the semantic network analyses.
Section 4 presents the procedures and findings resulting from the analyses. Section 5
provides the discussion and policy implications that emerge from the findings. Finally,
Section 6 offers a conclusionand the limitations of the study and suggests further research.
2.Literature review
2.1Evaluation of open government data portals
OGD refers to any data or informationgenerated by public bodies at all levels of government
that can be freely used, re-used and made available to the public without any restriction
(Kassen, 2013;Ubaldi, 2013;Veljkovićet al., 2014). OGD portals have been established
worldwide to collect, manage and distribute large volumes of government data. An OGD
portal is “an official web-portal launchedat the federal or local level aimed at making certain
types of governmental datasets publiclyaccessible via [the] internet”(Kassen, 2013, p. 508).
OGD portals promote the discoverability and accessibility of data through user interface
design and encourage the use of data.The evaluation of OGD portals has become crucial in
helping governmentsefficiently manage OGD in their portals.
Since the worldwide emergence of OGD portals, a large corpus of studies on the
assessment of OGD portals has been attempted, each study with varying approaches and
factors. The first group of studies focused on assessingthe quality of open data itself. Calero
et al. (2008) introduced thePortal Data Quality Assessment tool from consumer perspectives
in measuring portals. Umbrich et al. (2015) also assessedthe data quality of 82 OGD portals
with regards to retrievability, metadata usage, completeness, accuracy, openness and
contactability.Other studies have examined OGD quality, suchas the Open Data Barometer
(World Wide Web Foundation, 2024), Open Data Maturity Model (Open Data Institute,
2024) and the GlobalOpen Data Index (Open Knowledge Foundation, 2024), amongothers.
The second group of studies has concentrated on the assessment of OGD portals through
a system-based or a user-centred approach. The assessments may have been conducted
quantitatively, qualitatively or a blend of both, depending on the source or focus of the
measurement (Máchová et al.,2018). While a system-based approach deals with assessing a
system’s functions, technical resources, system environment and other factors, the
EL
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