Implementation of a conversational virtual assistant for open government data portal: Effects on citizens

Di Wang; Deborah Richards; Ayse Aysin Bilgin; Chuanfu Chen

doi:10.1177/01655515221151140

Implementation of a conversational virtual assistant for open government data portal: Effects on citizens

Di Wang^*, Deborah Richards, Ayse Aysin Bilgin, Chuanfu Chen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Insufficient support services are one of the barriers for citizen’s open government data (OGD) utilisation. Considering the strengths and effectiveness of virtual assistants (VAs) in providing instant and user-friendly support services, this study focuses primarily on its implementation for OGD portals. A conversational VA prototype is specifically developed. A between-subjects experiment with one factor (VA/text-based support services) was carried out. Results show citizens’ positive attitudes towards VAs providing support services on OGD portals. No significant difference was found for citizens’ acceptance, trustworthiness and rapport for OGD portals with and without a VA. Accuracy rate of completing tasks with VAs is slightly higher. A correlation lies between trustworthiness and rapport with OGD portals. This study benefits the improvement of OGD portals’ online services to enhance citizens’ experiences and provides a research model both for investigating VAs’ effects and for comparing different designs of a same kind of service for an interface.

Original language	English
Number of pages	21
Journal	Journal of Information Science
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515221151140
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 3 Feb 2023

Keywords

Interface design
open government data
portal acceptance
rapport
trustworthiness
virtual assistant

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10.1177/01655515221151140

Cite this

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title = "Implementation of a conversational virtual assistant for open government data portal: Effects on citizens",

abstract = "Insufficient support services are one of the barriers for citizen{\textquoteright}s open government data (OGD) utilisation. Considering the strengths and effectiveness of virtual assistants (VAs) in providing instant and user-friendly support services, this study focuses primarily on its implementation for OGD portals. A conversational VA prototype is specifically developed. A between-subjects experiment with one factor (VA/text-based support services) was carried out. Results show citizens{\textquoteright} positive attitudes towards VAs providing support services on OGD portals. No significant difference was found for citizens{\textquoteright} acceptance, trustworthiness and rapport for OGD portals with and without a VA. Accuracy rate of completing tasks with VAs is slightly higher. A correlation lies between trustworthiness and rapport with OGD portals. This study benefits the improvement of OGD portals{\textquoteright} online services to enhance citizens{\textquoteright} experiences and provides a research model both for investigating VAs{\textquoteright} effects and for comparing different designs of a same kind of service for an interface.",

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author = "Di Wang and Deborah Richards and Bilgin, {Ayse Aysin} and Chuanfu Chen",

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doi = "10.1177/01655515221151140",

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T2 - Effects on citizens

AU - Wang, Di

AU - Richards, Deborah

AU - Bilgin, Ayse Aysin

AU - Chen, Chuanfu

PY - 2023/2/3

Y1 - 2023/2/3

N2 - Insufficient support services are one of the barriers for citizen’s open government data (OGD) utilisation. Considering the strengths and effectiveness of virtual assistants (VAs) in providing instant and user-friendly support services, this study focuses primarily on its implementation for OGD portals. A conversational VA prototype is specifically developed. A between-subjects experiment with one factor (VA/text-based support services) was carried out. Results show citizens’ positive attitudes towards VAs providing support services on OGD portals. No significant difference was found for citizens’ acceptance, trustworthiness and rapport for OGD portals with and without a VA. Accuracy rate of completing tasks with VAs is slightly higher. A correlation lies between trustworthiness and rapport with OGD portals. This study benefits the improvement of OGD portals’ online services to enhance citizens’ experiences and provides a research model both for investigating VAs’ effects and for comparing different designs of a same kind of service for an interface.

AB - Insufficient support services are one of the barriers for citizen’s open government data (OGD) utilisation. Considering the strengths and effectiveness of virtual assistants (VAs) in providing instant and user-friendly support services, this study focuses primarily on its implementation for OGD portals. A conversational VA prototype is specifically developed. A between-subjects experiment with one factor (VA/text-based support services) was carried out. Results show citizens’ positive attitudes towards VAs providing support services on OGD portals. No significant difference was found for citizens’ acceptance, trustworthiness and rapport for OGD portals with and without a VA. Accuracy rate of completing tasks with VAs is slightly higher. A correlation lies between trustworthiness and rapport with OGD portals. This study benefits the improvement of OGD portals’ online services to enhance citizens’ experiences and provides a research model both for investigating VAs’ effects and for comparing different designs of a same kind of service for an interface.

KW - Interface design

KW - open government data

KW - portal acceptance

KW - rapport

KW - trustworthiness

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Implementation of a conversational virtual assistant for open government data portal: Effects on citizens

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

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Advancing open government data portals: a comparative usability evaluation study

The development of open government data: connecting supply and demand through portals

A predictive model for citizens’ utilization of open government data portals

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