Revealing Insights through Data Synthesis: A Review of Open Government Data

The article discusses the challenges faced during the synthesis of open government data, particularly when selecting articles from diverse fields with varying research methods and reporting standards. To address this challenge, the authors devised a predefined set of data elements to gather data that addressed the research questions, adjusting them as needed based on new insights from the readings. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes addressing the research question in the selected articles.
The inclusion and exclusion criteria were established based on the titles, abstracts, and keywords reviewed for primary screening. Only articles that did not discuss open government data were excluded, as they were focused on other types of data. The limitation of considering only articles published in English language was acknowledged, but it was noted that most academic articles with their abstracts in English could have been captured in the search strategy.
The findings of the review are presented in Table 1 and highlight the search strategy used for each database. The authors note that while this limitation might have resulted in some distortion, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the findings.
In summary, the article discusses the challenges faced during the synthesis of open government data and proposes strategies to address these challenges. By devising a predefined set of data elements and conducting thematic analysis, the authors were able to identify themes addressing the research question in the selected articles. While there are limitations to considering only English-language articles, the authors acknowledge that this limitation is unlikely to have a significant impact on the findings.