Democracy online: an assessment of New Zealand government web sites |
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| Institution: | 1. NLE Lab, PRHLT Research Center, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain;2. Dipartimento di Informatica, University of Turin, Italy;3. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;1. Department of Politics, NYU & Division of Social Science, NYU Abu Dhabi, 19 West 4th Street, 2nd Floor, NYNY 10012, United States;2. Department of Political Science, Florida State University, 551 Bellamy Building, Tallahassee, FL. 32306, United States;3. Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Hua Shan Road, Shanghai, 200030, P.R. China |
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| Abstract: | This study assesses the effectiveness of New Zealand government Web sites in providing equitable and appropriate access to government information to all citizens. A range of government Web sites was evaluated, and visitors to approximately half of these sites were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the effectiveness of the sites. Results show that there are several key issues for the government to address in formulating effective policy for government Web sites. These include the need for: a clear statement of purpose; good meta-data; good contacts for feedback and update of information; clear statements and adequate provision for confidentiality and privacy of personal data, liability, and copyright; access for disabled users; availability of publications in both electronic and print formats. Key issues to emerge from the user survey focus on the need for better search engines, indexes, and site maps to help people find out quickly if the information they are wanting is likely to be there, and to locate it. Users also need to be assured that the information on government Web sites is accurate and up-to-date. The authors concluded that there is a major gap in government policy emerging from this research that needs urgently to be addressed. |
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