Skip to main content

Information Systems as Mediators of Freedom of Information Requests

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Diversity, Divergence, Dialogue (iConference 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12646))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

While Freedom of Information requests play an important role in government oversight, the process remains largely untheorized, especially in relation to the role of information systems. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study using a random, stratified sample of 96 municipalities in one state. Our findings suggest that information systems play multiple mediating roles in shaping and affording access to government records, and that this mediation influences the outcomes of the FOI process. Our work has practical implications for transparency advocates, IS designers, and other information professionals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Afful-Dadzie, E., Afful-Dadzie, A.: Liberation of public data: exploring central themes in open government data and freedom of information research. Int. J. Inf. Manag. 37(6), 664–672 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.05.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Angel, S., Blei, A.M.: The spatial structure of American cities: the great majority of workplaces are no longer in CBDs, employment sub-centers, or live-work communities. Cities 51, 21–35 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barry, E., Bannister, F.: Barriers to open data release: a view from the top. Inf. Polity 19(1,2), 129–152 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-140327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bertot, J., Gorham, U., Jaeger, P., Sarin, L., Choi, H.: Big data, open government and e-government: issues, policies and recommendations. Inf. Polity 19(1,2), 5–16 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-140328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Burwell, S.M., VanRoekel, S., Park, T., Mancini, D.J.: M-13–13 memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies; subject: open data policy-managing information as an asset. Office of Management and Budget (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cordis, A.S., Warren, P.L.: Sunshine as disinfectant: the effect of state freedom of information act laws on public corruption. J. Public Econ. 115, 18–36 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Crusoe, J., Melin, U.: Investigating open government data barriers. In: Parycek, P., et al. (eds.) EGOV 2018. LNCS, vol. 11020, pp. 169–183. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98690-6_15

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Dawes, S., Helbig, N.: Information strategies for open government: challenges and prospects for deriving public value from government transparency. In: Wimmer, M.A., Chappelet, J.-L., Janssen, M., Scholl, H.J. (eds.) EGOV 2010. LNCS, vol. 6228, pp. 50–60. Springer, Heidelberg (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14799-9_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  9. Dulong de Rosnay, M., Janssen, K.: Legal and institutional challenges for opening data across public sectors: towards common policy solutions. J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 9(3), 1–4 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Greenberg, P.: strengthening sociological research through public records requests. Soc. Curr. 3(2), 110–117 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496515620646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Halstuk, M.E., Chamberlin, B.F.: The freedom of information act 1966–2006: a retrospective on the rise of privacy protection over the public interest in knowing what the government’s up to. Commun. Law Policy 11(4), 511–564 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326926clp1104_3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Janssen, K.: Open government data and the right to information: opportunities and obstacles. J. Commun. Inf. 8(2) (2012). https://www.ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/952

  13. Janssen, M., Charalabidis, Y., Zuiderwijk, A.: Benefits, adoption barriers and myths of open data and open government. Inf. Syst. Manag. 29(4), 258–268 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Keen, M.F.: The freedom of information act and sociological research. Am. Sociol. 23(2), 43–51 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Luscombe, A., Walby, K.: Theorizing freedom of information: the live archive, obfuscation, and actor-network theory. Gov. Inf. Q. 34(3), 379–387 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2017.09.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Oltmann, S.M., Knox, E.J., Peterson, C., Musgrave, S.: Using open records laws for research purposes. Libr. Inf. Sci. Res. 37(4), 323–328 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Open Government Data. https://opengovernmentdata.org/. Accessed 7 Apr 2020

  18. Pozen, D.E.: Freedom of information beyond the freedom of information act. U. Pa. L. Rev. 165, 1097 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Savage, A., Hyde, R.: Using freedom of information requests to facilitate research. Int. J. Soc. Res. Methodol. 17(3), 303–317 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.742280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Schrock, A.R.: Civic hacking as data activism and advocacy: a history from publicity to open government data. New Media & Society (2016). https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816629469

  21. Shepherd, E., Stevenson, A., Flinn, A.: Freedom of information and records management in local government: help or hindrance? Inf. Polity 16(2), 111–121 (2011). https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-2011-0229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Walby, K., Larsen, M.: Access to information and freedom of information requests: neglected means of data production in the social sciences. Qual. Inquiry 18(1), 31–42 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800411427844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yu, H., Robinson, D.G.: The new ambiguity of open government. UCLA L. Rev. Discourse 59, 178 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Carter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Carter, D., Stratton, C. (2021). Information Systems as Mediators of Freedom of Information Requests. In: Toeppe, K., Yan, H., Chu, S.K.W. (eds) Diversity, Divergence, Dialogue. iConference 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12646. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71305-8_22

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71305-8_22

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-71304-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-71305-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics