This paper describes an exploratory, multisite case study of the production of textual content for
state agency Web sites. The qualitative field study explored internal agency Web staff characterizations
of textual Web content and staff perceptions of factors affecting the production of content. Study
results suggest that staff characterize content in terms of its format, its style age, its rate of change, its
degree of change, its owner, and the degree to which it is sensitive. Staff described nine factors
affecting content production including information intensity, public education mission, public inquiry
burden, top-down directives, existing maintenance burden, review and approval process, resources,
management interest and goals, and support from other program staff. A better understanding of how
internal agency staff perceive and treat content is important because staff play a large role in
determining what content is produced and what characteristics the content contains. The inclusion or
exclusion of certain characteristics in content has important implications for information usability,
costs, citizen participation in agency policymaking, government transparency, and public trust in
government.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/106307 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Eschenfelder, Kristin R. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Journal Article (Paginated) |
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