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Webportal vs google for finding government information on the web

From a website-centric approach to a web ecology perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID6149563
AuthorsPaul Henman (0000-0002-9923-6587, The University of Queensland, corresponding author), Tiffany Graham (0000-0002-4053-9313, Australian National University)
Year2018
Volume23
Issue4
Pages361-378
Publication date2018-11-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInformation Polity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1875-8754 • E-ISSN: 1570-1255
PublisherIOS Press (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.3233/ip-180071
OpenAlexW2900763072
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited2

Webportals – websites that operate as front doors or guides into government on the web – are central to government web strategy and presence. However, little is known about their success in enabling people to quickly and accurately access public sector information and services. In these days of Goo gle and generic web search engines, government webportals are not the only way to find government on the web. This paper argues that an effective evaluation of government webportals requires shifting from a website perspective to a whole-of-web (or web ecology) perspective. This perspective is illuminated by an online quasi-experiment of the effectiveness of the British government’s webportal, www.gov.uk. Participants’ performance in using the webportal to find information about public services were compared with those using commercial web search tools (such as Google). There was mixed evidence that the portal provided greater accuracy in finding public service information, but no evidence for greater speeds. The findings suggest that government web strategy focus less on creating large webportals and more on small functionally-defined web units that offer enhanced opportunities for commercial search engine discoverability and flexibility for change

Biology · Business · Government (linguistics · Internet privacy · Perspective (graphical · The Internet · Web 2.0 · Web analytics · Web application security · Web development · World Wide Web · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · Social Media and Politics · Web visibility and informetrics · Ecology

  • The structure of the online state

    Open Access•Paul Henman, Tiffany Graham et al.•Government Information Quarterly•2019

  • Building the ‘front door’ within a web ecology

    Open Access•Paul Henman, Tiffany Graham et al.•Government Information Quarterly•2021

  • Digital Social Policy

    Open Access•Paul Henman•Journal of Social Policy•2022

  • Barriers to Networked Governments

    Open Access•Rebecca Eynon, William H Dutton•Prometheus•2007

  • The Whole‐of‐Government Approach to Public Sector Reform

    Open Access•Tom Christensen, Per Lægreid•Public Administration Review•2007

Unique citing works3
Citations per year0,43
Citation span2019 - 2022 (4)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3

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